Association between substance use and PrEP adherence among adolescent girls and young women enrolled in an HIV prevention study in Southern Africa

What is it about?

Use of alcohol and substances can prevent at-risk populations from adhering to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis. We found high alcohol and substance use in adolescent girls and young women in Southern Africa. Hazardous drinking was associated with low adherence to oral PrEP, but there was no association between the use of substances and adherence to oral PrEP.

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Photo by Rock Staar on Unsplash

Photo by Rock Staar on Unsplash

Why is it important?

These mixed findings are common in substance use research, highlighting the need for studies that are designed to detect and measure alcohol and substance use in AGYW. This is important in regions such as Africa, where there is a high burden of HIV and where hazardous drinking and substance use could lead to increased sexual behaviors that increase the chances of HIV acquisition. This work will also help in the development of tools and policies that support PrEP use, and the integration of substance use and hazardous drinking screening and referral to treatment within PrEP programs targeted towards AGYW