Assessing the Impact of a PrEP Aware Week Campaign on PrEP Prescription Fills in NYS.

CONTEXT: The New York State (NYS) Department of Health AIDS Institute engaged stakeholders across NYS to participate in the state's first "PrEP Aware Week" (PAW). PAW sought to increase the knowledge, interest, and number of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) prescriptions filled across NYS. PAW activities were designed to be easy to implement, with minimal cost. Stakeholders were provided activities to implement, along with a social media tool kit featuring videos, graphic ads, and sample social media posts in English and Spanish to use as is or modify. PAW included more than 750 distinct events and activities undertaken by more than 250 participating providers.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of PAW on PrEP prescription filling patterns in NYS.

DESIGN

An interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to estimate the impact of PAW on overall and new PrEP prescription filling patterns. Separate models were developed by sex (male, female), race and ethnicity (White non-Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, other, unknown), and region (New York City, rest of NYS).

SETTING

PAW took place across NYS during the week beginning October 20, 2019.

PARTICIPANTS

PAW was undertaken by more than 250 health care providers, nonmedical health & human services providers, local and state health department staff, and colleges and universities.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of overall and new PrEP prescriptions.

RESULTS

PAW was associated with modest increases (6%-9%) in the number of PrEP prescription fills in NYS. The PAW impact lasted for about 2 months, generated an estimated 2727 additional PrEP prescription fills statewide, and was realized across sex, region, and racial and ethnic subgroups. Increased prescription fills were driven by those previously prescribed PrEP. Increases in new prescriptions were noted among Latinx individuals (21% increase, 55 additional prescriptions) but not overall or across other groups.

CONCLUSION

NYS's PAW was effective at increasing PrEP prescription refills in NYS.