Willingness to participate in HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis clinical trials among female sex workers

ObjectiveTo explore the willingness towards participation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis(PrEP)clinical trials and its influencing factors among female sex workers(FSWs)in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China.MethodsA cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted.A total of 348 FSWs were recruited from three cities(Nanning,Liuzhou and Beihai)in Guangxi.Results Among the 348 paticipants,the awareness rate of PrEP was only 14.9% (52/348)and 54.3% (189/348)of the FSWs were willing to participate in the clinical trial of PrEP.The main reason of reluctant to the participation was the fear of PrEP side effects(81.8%).Logistic regression analyses showed that the influencing factors of the participation of PrEP were current residence(odds ratioOR=2.598,95% confidence intervalCI:1.395-4.838),sticking to take PrEP everyday(OR=2.581,95% CI:1.486-4.481),having the ability to prevent HIV infection(OR=1.843,95% CI:1.070-3.174),having good relationship with family members(OR=1.990, 95% CI:1.120-3.535),influence of the site owners(gatekeepers)(OR=0.550,95% CI:0.329-0.918),and concerns about discrimination by others when using the PrEP(OR=0.285,95% CI:0.167-0.488).ConclusionSite owners (gatekeepers),family support and discrimination of others are important influencing factors in PrEP clinical trials among FSWs in Guangxi.The results suggest that comprehensive interventions and decreasing discrimination may effectively promote the willingness of PrEP.