Prospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 6, 2024; 12(22): 5042-5050
Published online Aug 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i22.5042
Effectiveness of onsite and online education in enhancing knowledge and use of human immunodeficiency virus pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis
Ying Shao, Mei Zhang, Li-Jun Sun, Hong-Wei Zhang, An Liu, Xi Wang, Ruo-Lei Xin, Jian-Wei Li, Jiang-Zhu Ye, Yue Gao, Zhang-Li Wang, Zai-Cun Li, Tong Zhang
Ying Shao, Li-Jun Sun, Hong-Wei Zhang, An Liu, Xi Wang, Jian-Wei Li, Jiang-Zhu Ye, Yue Gao, Zhang-Li Wang, Zai-Cun Li, Clinic of Center for Infection, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Mei Zhang, Tong Zhang, Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Li-Jun Sun, Chinese Association of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control, Beijing 100050, China
Ruo-Lei Xin, Institute of STD/AIDS Prevention and Control, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
Co-first authors: Ying Shao and Mei Zhang.
Co-corresponding authors: Zai-Cun Li and Tong Zhang.
Author contributions: Shao Y contributed to the methodology and writing of the original draft; Zhang M contributed to validation and writing of the original draft; Sun LJ contributed to funding acquisition and writing, reviewing, and editing; Zhang HW supervised the project and contributed to the writing of the original draft; Liu A curated the data and contributed to writing, reviewing, and editing; Wang X, Xin RL, Li JW, Ye JZ, Gao Y, and Wang ZL contributed to resourcing, writing, reviewing, and editing; Li ZC contributed to conceptualization and writing, reviewing, and editing; Zhang T managed the project administration and contributed to writing, reviewing, and editing; All authors provided comments on previous versions of the manuscript and approved the final version.
Institutional review board statement: This study received ethical approval from the ethics committee of Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University [No. (2021) 078], and the research was implemented in strict conformity with the guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.
Clinical trial registration statement: The registration number for the study was ChiCTR2100048080.
Informed consent statement: The determination of patients’ capacity to provide written informed consent was based on their thorough understanding of time, location, and personal identity, in addition to their ability to comprehend the explanations provided by the investigator.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Datasets utilized and/or analyzed during this investigation, including the study protocol, participant data, and statistical analysis plan, which have been redacted, are accessible from the corresponding authors upon valid request.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tong Zhang, MD, Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical Immunology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 8 Xitoutiao, Youanmenwai, Fengtai District, Beijing 100069, China. zt_doc@ccmu.edu.cn
Received: January 30, 2024
Revised: May 13, 2024
Accepted: June 11, 2024
Published online: August 6, 2024
Processing time: 153 Days and 17.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Enhancing awareness and use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is vital to curb human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) spread. High-risk behaviors prevalent among sexually transmitted infection clinic outpatients underscore the need for increased PrEP/PEP education in this group.

AIM

To investigate the effects of both onsite and online health education on the knowledge of, and willingness to use, PrEP and PEP among individuals receiving PEP services.

METHODS

Participants were drawn from a cohort study on PEP service intervention at an STD/AIDS outpatient clinic in designated HIV/AIDS hospitals in Beijing, conducted from January 1 to June 30, 2022. Health education was provided both onsite and online during follow-up. Surveys assessing knowledge of, and willingness to use, PrEP/PEP were administered at baseline and again at 24 wk post-intervention.

RESULTS

A total of 112 participants were enrolled in the study; 105 completed the follow-up at week 24. The percentage of participants with adequate knowledge of, and willingness to use, PrEP significantly increased from 65.2% and 69.6% at baseline to 83.8% and 82.9% at the end of the intervention (both P < 0.05). Similarly, those with adequate knowledge of, and willingness to use, PEP increased from 74.1% and 77.7% at baseline to 92.4% and 89.5% at week 24 (P < 0.05). Being between 31 years and 40 years of age, having a postgraduate degree or higher, and reporting a monthly expenditure of RMB 5000 or more were found to be significantly associated with knowledge of PrEP and PEP (both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The findings show that both onsite and online health education significantly improved the knowledge of, and increased willingness to use, PrEP and PEP in individuals utilizing PEP services.

Keywords: Human immunodeficiency virus; Pre-exposure prophylaxis; Post-exposure prophylaxis; Health education; Intervention

Core Tip: The study aimed to assess the impact of onsite and online health education on the awareness and adoption of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) by PEP service users at a Beijing STD/AIDS clinic. Between January and June 2022, 112 participants were enrolled, and 105 completed the study. Education efforts led to a significant increase in the knowledge of and willingness to use PrEP and PEP, with adequate understanding of PrEP increasing from 65.2% to 83.8%, and PEP from 74.1% to 92.4%. The study concluded that both education methods effectively improved PrEP and PEP uptake by high-risk individuals.