Mixed Method Approach to study the behavioural aspects of injectable PrEP use among West-African MSM

In West-Africa, men who have sex with men (MSM) remain to be at substantial risk for acquiring HIV. Recently, the CohMSM-PrEP study demonstrated that it is feasible to provide oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEPà to prevent HIV infections among West-African MSM. In 2020 it has become clear that injectable PrEP is a highly promising novel HIV prevention tool. To maximise the potential of injectable PrEP, we require better insights into its behavioural aspects: uptake, sustained use and discontinuations.
In the proposed project we focus on a more extensive collaboration between the quantitative and qualitative social sciences strands of a demonstration project with injectable PrEP among 400 MSM in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Togo. The quantitative research is coordinated by SESSTIM (Marseille) and includes collection and analysis of questionnaire data. The qualitative research is coordinated by ITM (Antwerp) and includes 16 focus group discussions and 80 semi-structured interviews.
The proposed project will allow for a mixed method approach between both research strands, leading to enhanced insights and synergies between both research teams. The more extensive collaboration will allow for adaptations of the questionnaires based on preliminary analyses of the qualitative strand, and vice versa. The combination of both research strands will lead to more comprehensive insights and increases the validity of the results.