Is Doxy-PEP Right for Me? Piloting a Novel Patient Decision Aid in an Urban Ambulatory Clinic

We iteratively designed a novel patient decision aid (PDA) to improve patient-provider communication regarding the benefits, risks, and proper usage of doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP). We tested the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of counseling using this PDA among a pilot group in two academic, urban sexual health clinics. Using a pretest-posttest model we assessed the extent to which this intervention impacted participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards Doxy-PEP. Participants (N = 30) were all assigned male at birth and had at least one sexually transmitted infection in the past year; 30% were living with HIV. We found that counseling using this PDA increased participants' familiarity with, comfort with, and knowledge of Doxy-PEP. Participants found this intervention to be acceptable, appropriate, and feasible. This model of employing formally evaluated PDAs to enhance patient-provider communication may be adaptable for other public health interventions.