Midwest Pharmacists' Familiarity, Experience, and Willingness to Provide Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV

Authors

Jordan M. Broekhuis, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Kimberly K. Scarsi, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Harlan R. Sayles, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Donald G. Klepser, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Joshua P. Havens, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Susan Swindells, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Sara H. Bares, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal Title

PLoS One

Publication Date

2018

Volume

13

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacist provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through collaborative practice agreements with physicians could expand access to people at risk for HIV. We characterized pharmacists' familiarity with and willingness to provide PrEP services in Nebraska and Iowa.

METHODS: An invitation to complete an 18-question survey was emailed to 1,140 pharmacists in Nebraska and Iowa in June and July of 2016. Descriptive analyses and Pearson chi-square tests were used to determine to what extent demographics, familiarity and experience were associated with respondent willingness to provide PrEP. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests compared ages and years of experience between groups of respondents.

RESULTS: One hundred forty pharmacists (12.3%) responded. Less than half were familiar with the use of PrEP (42%) or the CDC guidelines for its use (25%). Respondents who were older (p = .015) and in practice longer (p = .005) were less likely to be familiar with PrEP. Overall, 54% indicated they were fairly or very likely to provide PrEP services as part of a collaborative practice agreement and after additional training. While familiarity with PrEP use or guidelines did not affect respondents' willingness to provide PrEP, respondents were more likely to provide PrEP with prior experience counseling HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (OR 2.43; p = 0.023) or PrEP (OR 4.67; p = 0.013), and with prior HIV-related continuing education (OR 2.77; p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist respondents in Nebraska and Iowa had limited familiarity and experience with PrEP, but most indicated willingness to provide PrEP through collaborative practice agreements after additional training. Provision of PrEP-focused continuing education may lead to increased willingness to participate in PrEP programs.

DOI Link

10.1371/journal.pone.0207372

ISSN

1932-6203

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Broekhuis, Jordan M.; Scarsi, Kimberly K.; Sayles, Harlan R.; Klepser, Donald G.; Havens, Joshua P.; Swindells, Susan; and Bares, Sara H., "Midwest Pharmacists' Familiarity, Experience, and Willingness to Provide Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV" (2018). Journal Articles: Internal Medicine. 9.
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/com_internal_articles/9