Participant perceptions on the acceptability and feasibility of a telemedicine-based HIV PrEP and buprenorphine/naloxone program embedded within syringe services programs: a qualitative descriptive evaluation

作者：Amy Corneli, Brian Perry, Andrea C. Des Marais, Yujung Choi, Hillary Chen, Rebecca Lilly, Denae Ayers, Jesse Bennett, Lauren Kestner, Christina S. Meade, Nidhi Sachdeva, Mehri McKellar · 发表于：Harm Reduction Journal · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1186/s12954-022-00718-1 · 被引用次数：19 · 研究领域：HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk、Opioid Use Disorder Treatment、HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs (PWID) are at risk for HIV and opioid overdose. We piloted PARTNER UP, a telemedicine-based program to provide PWID with access to both oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through two syringe services programs (SSPs) in North Carolina. We conducted a qualitative evaluation to assess the acceptability and feasibility of PARTNER UP from the participant perspective. METHODS: PARTNER UP participants met with a provider for an initial in-person visit at the SSP, followed by weekly telemedicine visits in month 1 and then monthly telemedicine visits until program end at month 6. Using a qualitative descriptive study design, we conducted in-depth interviews with a subsample of PARTNER UP participants at 1 month and 4 months. Informed by the technology acceptance model, we assessed participant perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of PARTNER UP, as well as their intent to continue to use the program's components. We audio-recorded all interviews with participants' permission and used applied thematic analysis to analyze the verbatim transcripts. RESULTS: We interviewed 11 of 17 people who participated in PARTNER UP-10 in the month 1 interview and 8 in the month 4 interview. Nearly all participants were motivated to join for consistent and easy access to buprenorphine/naloxone (i.e., MOUD); only a few joined to access PrEP. Most were comfortable accessing healthcare at the SSP ...