Defining the PrEP Care Continuum Among Recently Incarcerated Men at High-Risk for HIV Infection

Background: Several major studies have demonstrated the success of Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in preventing HIV infection.The CDC guidelines recommend PrEP for people who are at elevated risk of HIV including men who have sex with men (MSM) and people who use injection drugs. People who are incarcerated bear a disproportionate of disease burden, including HIV. Furthermore, men who have been involved with the criminal justice system are more likely to engage in risky behaviors following their release, including condomless sex with partners of unknown serostatus, and injection drug use.

The incarceration setting provides a place to engage men who may be at risk of HIV after they are released.

Following release, community clinics, including the STD clinic at The Miriam Hospital (TMH) Immunology Center, that perform routine testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) may be ideal settings to engage vulnerable populations in care, including PrEP.

Despite the demonstrated clinical efficacy of PrEP in reducing HIV transmissions, few clinical programs have piloted the use of PrEP in real-world settings, particularly criminal justice settings. Furthermore, studies demonstrate numerous challenges to PrEP uptake and adherence, including a lack of access or discontinuing care. Engaging at risk men in PrEP care before they leave prison and potentially lost to care during the transition may increase uptake, adherence, and retention.

Objective: This study protocol will evaluate a clinical program that aims to prevent new HIV infections among recently-incarcerated men using a once daily dosing of tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This protocol presents an overview of the clinical program, which uses standard-of-care clinical practices and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for prescribing and monitoring PrEP.

Male inmates at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) will be screened for HIV risk and, if eligible and interested, will be prescribed and given a one-month supply of PrEP shortly before their release, and receive follow up care at The Miriam Hospital (TMH) Immunology Center following their release.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: HIV Infections; Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Emtricitabine / Tenofovir

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 100
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Rhode Island
    • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02906
      • The Miriam Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Current men committed at the RIDOC (aged 18 and above); HIV negative; meet CDC indications for PrEP use (based on risk criteria before they were sentenced); interested in taking PrEP; and are able to voluntarily consent to be treated will be included

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who are younger than 18 years old; are HIV positive, Hepatitis B Virus positive or have a CrCl<60; or unable to provide voluntary consent will be excluded.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number retained in PrEP care	The primary outcome of the proposed study will be the number of individuals retained in PrEP care at 6 months	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Miriam Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 16, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 21, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): January 27, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 23, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 22, 2021
• Last Verified: February 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Blood-Borne Infections; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral; Lentivirus Infections; Retroviridae Infections; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Immune System Diseases; Disease Attributes; Slow Virus Diseases; HIV Infections; Infections; Communicable Diseases; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiviral Agents; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; Enzyme Inhibitors; Anti-HIV Agents; Anti-Retroviral Agents; Tenofovir; Emtricitabine
• Other Study ID Numbers: PrEP Care-Gilead

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No