The Prevention Options for Women Evaluation Research (POWER) Cohort

A Cohort for Evaluation of Open-label PrEP Delivery Among Kenyan and South African Women: The POWER Cohort

The POWER Cohort study is a PrEP implementation project to demonstrate Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery for young women in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa and Kisumu, Kenya.

PrEP will be delivered to young women according to emerging national guidelines in family planning clinics (Kisumu, Kenya), youth friendly clinics (Johannesburg, South Africa), and mobile youth friendly clinics (Cape Town, South Africa). The investigators will evaluate PrEP delivery and follow cohorts of young women at each clinic location to understand PrEP uptake and use. In the Kisumu clinics, the investigators will also offer expedited partner therapy and partner HIV self-tests to women who test positive for chlamydia and/or gonorrhea. At one clinic in Johannesburg, the investigators will evaluate the use of a decision support tool to improve the decision to initiate PrEP.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 16-25 (16 and 17 year olds, where permissible by national regulations and local IRB approval)
• Able and willing to provide written informed consent
• Recently sexually active (defined as having had vaginal intercourse at least once in the previous three months)
• HIV uninfected based on negative HIV rapid tests, on the date of enrollment