Does providing laboratory confirmed STI results impact uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among Kenyan adolescents girls and young women? A descriptive analysis

In 2018, one-third of incident adult HIV infections in Kenya occurred among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 years.1 2 Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is approved as part of the national HIV prevention interventions.3 4 AGYW have the lowest uptake of PrEP coupled with high discontinuation rates.5–7

Sexually transmitted infections are known to increase the risk of HIV acquisition.8 Prevalence of STIs in sexually active AGYW is high.9 This drives health seeking behaviour in this population and is a good opportunity to provide PrEP at point of care.

We hypothesised that availing STI results would augment PrEP uptake among AGYW.

Participants were followed quarterly with STI testing for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Trichomonas vaginalis. From January 2018 to December 2018, we screened for PrEP eligibility with a validated HIV risk assessment tool (

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