Community Perceptions About Use of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Kenya

Abstract

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub-Saharan Africa have high HIV incidence. Despite scale-up of programmatic delivery and demand creation activities in this population, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake is low. To explore community perceptions around AGYW PrEP use, we conducted four focus group discussions (FGDs) between October and December 2018 with 26 Community Advisory Board (CAB) members in Kenya. Conventional content analysis and thematic network analysis were used to identify themes relating to community perceptions of PrEP use among AGYW. CAB members noted community perception of PrEP use as unacceptable for AGYW because of the potential to increase “promiscuous” behavior, STIs, and pregnancy. AGYW may face stigma if PrEP is mistaken for HIV treatment, and may fear HIV testing or accessing PrEP because of a lack of youth-friendly services. PrEP can be integrated into maternal and child health and family planning clinics, which are routinely accessed by AGYW and lack the stigma associated with HIV clinics. PrEP scale-up among AGYW will require continued community sensitization to address concerns, reduce stigma, and clarify misperceptions.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest (COI): The authors report no real or perceived vested interests related to this article that could be construed as a conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.

Barriers and Strategies to Increase Scale-Up of PrEP Note. PrEP = Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, HIV = Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HCW = Health Care Worker, CHV = Community Health Volunteer, MCH = Maternal and Child Health, FP = Family Planning.