Exploring the experiences, health and wellness of people taking HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Ontario.
The formal approval of the drugs tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) for use as PrEP in February 2016, as well as their addition to the Ontario Drug Benefit formulary, contributed to expanded access to and uptake of PrEP for communities most impacted by the HIV epidemic. As PrEP use continues to expand in Ontario, there remain a number of questions about how PrEP will be used by the people who need it, and what potential benefits and challenges will arise as PrEP use grows.
The Ontario PrEP Cohort enrolled 730 participants using PrEP across the province and collected data on their health and behaviour while using PrEP, how they think and feel about using PrEP, and their experiences accessing healthcare. By following how people use PrEP in their daily lives we hope to answer important questions about the efficacy of PrEP in real-world settings and how it may impact things like overall sexual health, sexual behaviour, perceptions of HIV risk, and engagement in medical care. Gathering this information allows for community based HIV educators and healthcare providers to provide better information and services related to PrEP in Ontario.
This study was made possible through grants from CIHR, the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, CANFAR, and REACH 2.0.
Publications
Data Access
The ON-PrEP study team invites requests for data access for the purpose of scholarly investigation. Interested researchers are encouraged to submit an analysis concept sheet to the study team detailing proposed project details.