HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake by advanced practice nurses: Interplay of agency, community and attitudinal factors

Aims: To identify associations among agency, community, personal and attitudinal factors that affect advanced practice nurses’ uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, an intervention consists of emtricitabine/tenofovir once-daily pill, along with sexual risk reduction education. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: During March-May 2017, randomly selected Indiana advanced practice nurses were invited to complete an online survey, consisted of several validated self-rating measures (N = 1,358; response = 32.3%). Final sample (N = 369) was predominantly White, non-Hispanic, female advanced practice nurses in urban practices (mean age = 46). Conceptual model for structural equation model included 29 original/composite variables and five latent factors. Results: Final model consisted of 11 variables and four factors: agency, community, HIV prevention practices (including screening) and motivation to adopt evidence-based practices overall. Community had direct effects on HIV prevention practices (estimate = 0.28) and agency (estimate = 0.29). Agency had direct effects on HIV prevention practices (estimate = 0.74) and motivation to adopt evidence-based practices (estimate = 0.24). Community had indirect effects, through agency, on the two remaining factors. Conclusion: Barriers exist against pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation, although practice guidelines are available. HIV prevention practices must be integrated across organizational structures, especially in high-risk communities, whereas practice change is more effective when focused on changing providers’ attitudes towards intervention. When planning a pre-exposure prophylaxis intervention, advancing inputs from healthcare professionals, organizational leadership and community members, is crucial to success. Impact: In settings where advanced practice nurses are primary contact points for health care, they may be best positioned to have an impact on implementation of HIV risk reduction strategies. Further research is needed to optimize their contributions to pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation.