Nurse-led pre-exposure prophylaxis: a non-traditional model to provide HIV prevention in a resource-constrained, pragmatic clinical trial
Heather-Marie A. Schmidt A F , Ruthy McIver B , Rebecca Houghton B , Christine Selvey C , Anna McNulty B D , Rick Varma B E , Andrew E. Grulich E and Joanne Holden AA Centre for Population Health, NSW Ministry of Health, 73 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia.
B Sydney Sexual Health Centre, Nightingale Wing, Sydney Eye Hospital, 8 Macquarie St, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.
C Health Protection NSW, NSW Health, 73 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia.
D School of Public Health and Community Medicine, the University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
E The Kirby Institute, the University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: heathermarie.schmidt@gmail.com
Sexual Health 15(6) 595-597 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH18076
Submitted: 9 April 2018 Accepted: 1 July 2018 Published: 27 September 2018
Abstract
There is little evidence and no standardised model for nurse-led HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). In 2016, public sexual health clinics in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, participating in the population-scale PrEP access trial Expanded PrEP Implementation In Communities in New South Wales (EPIC-NSW) were authorised to adopt a nurse-led model of PrEP provision in order to facilitate the rapid expansion of PrEP access to more than 8000 participants in under 2 years without additional resources. The model has been implemented successfully in public clinics in 10 of 14 local health districts, with widespread support and no serious safety events reported. With the increasing importance of PrEP as an HIV prevention tool, non-traditional models of care, including nurse-led PrEP, are needed.
Additional keywords: Expanded PrEP Implementation in Communities in New South Wales (EPIC-NSW), model of care.
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