HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Implementation in Primary Care

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has emerged as a cornerstone of biomedical prevention, offering highly effective protection when integrated into routine primary care workflows. Implementation requires alignment of clinical guidelines with general practice, consolidation of testing and monitoring protocols, and patient education to support adherence. Primary care settings present both opportunities and challenges: they serve broad populations at varying levels of HIV risk, yet many practitioners lack familiarity with PrEP regimens, eligibility criteria and management of potential side effects. Effective models embed PrEP within existing sexual health or chronic disease management pathways, utilising nurse-led assessments, electronic decision-support tools and telehealth platforms. Multilevel interventions address provider training, system-level funding and community outreach to reduce stigma and enhance equitable access. Real-world studies demonstrate that tailored integration in primary care and women’s health clinics can substantially increase prescribing rates and patient uptake, while comprehensive adherence support maintains high levels of protection across diverse groups. As global health strategies aim to end the HIV epidemic, strengthening primary care capacity for PrEP delivery is critical to achieving widespread, sustainable prevention coverage.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have assessed provider knowledge, attitudes and determinants of PrEP implementation across resource-limited settings. A cross-sectional survey of healthcare providers in public health facilities in Ethiopia revealed modest levels of PrEP knowledge (55.7%) and favourable attitudes (60.2%). Male gender, longer service tenure and self-reported protective sexual behaviours were associated with greater knowledge, while formal training and guideline review predicted supportive attitudes. This work highlights the need for targeted training programmes, guideline dissemination and behavioural interventions to bolster provider competence and engagement in PrEP delivery within primary care contexts.

HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Implementation in Primary Care publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in hiv pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation in primary care across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): A preventive strategy involving daily or event-based administration of antiretroviral drugs to HIV-negative individuals at risk of infection.

Primary care: First-contact, accessible healthcare provided by generalist practitioners managing a broad range of conditions.

Adherence: The extent to which a patient consistently follows prescribed medication regimens.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART): Combination drug treatment that inhibits HIV replication, utilised for prevention and treatment.

Serodiscordant partner: A relationship in which one individual is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative.

References

1. Knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors towards HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among health care providers. Scientific Reports (2024).
2. Successful Integration of HIV PrEP in Primary Care and Women’s Health Clinical Practice: A Model for Implementation. Viruses (2023).
3. Improving PrEP Implementation Through Multilevel Interventions: A Synthesis of the Literature. AIDS and Behavior (2018).
4. Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM): A Scoping Review on PrEP Service Delivery and Programming. AIDS and Behavior (2020).