Express Testing and Same-day Initiation of PrEP Study

Gay, bisexual men who have sex with men (gbMSM) account for over half of new HIV infections in Canada each year, experience a disproportionately high burden of new HIV infections, and a 131-fold higher risk of HIV than other Canadian men. Transgender women (TGW) are a population also at increased HIV risk and a priority for HIV prevention.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for prevention of HIV infection using regular oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) or tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF/FTC) is an effective and safe HIV prevention option for MSM and data from the Canadian setting shows that awareness, interest and willingness to use PrEP have been rising in this population. Accessing PrEP is currently a multistep process, often across several healthcare settings, that creates unnecessary barriers leading to attrition or delays in initiation. Although PrEP uptake has increased over time in Ontario, there is a significant proportion of gbMSM who are not on PrEP that would benefit from initiation. In multiple studies of the PrEP cascade, drop off in patient participation can be seen at each -level of the continuum often as a result of delays in the accessibility of starting PrEP and the multiple steps required by patients.

The success of PrEP has led to a decrease in HIV diagnoses among men in Ontario in recent years, however, Black and Latinx gbMSM, and TGW make up a disproportionate percentage of positive diagnoses. Despite recent increases in PrEP uptake, it is well understood that BIPOC experience barriers when accessing PrEP, leading to lower rates of uptake compared to white gbMSM. A critical component of the HIV care continuum in Ontario will be to increase the uptake of testing and PrEP use within those populations experiencing disproportionate risk, as well as people who experience mental health or substance use issues.

Currently in Ontario, the turnaround time between sample collection and a confirmatory positive HIV test to the provider can be a week or more. The HQ lab is designed to conduct laboratory HIV screening within 1 to 2 hours and confirmatory testing onsite in approximately 3 to 4 hours. This will allow the HQ team to offer same-day PrEP initiation for eligible participants in less than 2 hours following a negative HIV screening test. No other clinical program has been able to draw the blood sample, have both the screening and confirmatory lab-based testing done, give the diagnosis, and initiate PrEP on the same day.