Improving PrEP access for adolescent girls and young women: a descriptive analysis of community-based PrEP delivery in the DREAMS programme in Zambia.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Despite being at high risk of HIV acquisition, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) is low in Zambia because PrEP is traditionally delivered in clinical settings. We describe the effects of community centres supported by the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) initiative on PrEP outcomes in Zambia and examine factors associated with PrEP continuation.

Methods

We collected individual-level PrEP data for AGYW aged 15-24 years at risk of HIV acquisition and enrolled in DREAMS in seven districts of Zambia between August 2022 and August 2024. We used Pearson's Chi-squared test to examine differences in beneficiary characteristics between clients with a PrEP initiation visit and ≥ 

SUBMITTER: Musheke M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12232481 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature