Structural influences on delivery and use of oral HIV PrEP among adolescent girls and young women seeking post abortion care in KenyaResearch in context

Summary: Background: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in East and southern Africa experience a disproportionate burden of HIV incidence. Integrating HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) within existing programs is a key component of addressing this disparity. Methods: We evaluated an oral PrEP program integrated into post-abortion care (PAC) in Kenya from March 2021 to November 2022. Technical advisors trained staff at PAC clinics on PrEP delivery, abstracted program data from each clinic, and collected data on structural characteristics. Utilizing a modified Poisson regression, we estimated the effect of structural factors on the probability of PrEP offer and uptake. Findings: We abstracted data on 6877 AGYW, aged 15–30 years, across 14 PAC clinics. PrEP offers were made to 57.4% of PAC clients and 14.1% initiated PrEP. Offers were associated with an increased probability at clinics that had consistent supply of PrEP (relative risk (RR):1.81, 95% CI: 1.1–2.95), inconsistent HIV testing commodities (RR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.29–2.78), had all providers trained (RR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.68), and were public (RR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.29–2.78). These same factors were associated with PrEP uptake: consistent supply of PrEP (RR: 2.71, 95% CI: 1.44–5.09), inconsistent HIV testing commodities (RR: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.39–4.67), all providers trained (RR: 2.61, 95% CI: 1.38–4.92), and were public (RR: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.39–4.67). Interpretation: Greater success with integration of HIV prevention into reproductive health services will likely require investments in systems, such as human resources and PrEP and HIV testing commodities, to create stable availability and ensure consistent access. Funding: PrEDIRA 2 was supported by funding from Children's Investment Fund Foundation (R-2001-04433). Ms. Zia was funded by the NIH Ruth L. Kirchstein pre-doctoral award (5F31HD105494-02) and Dr. Heffron was funded by National Institute of Mental Health (K24MH123371).