HIV Treatment and Program Preferences Among Ryan White Clients in New York City in the Era of Long-Acting Injectable...

Despite improvements in treatment for people living with HIV (PWH), adherence remains a challenge for many. In this study we aimed to identify preferences for daily pill or long-acting injectable (LAI) antiretroviral therapy (ART) and for possible treatment package features, among PWH enrolled in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part A (RWPA) Medical Case Management (MCM) programs.

Participants were recruited from six MCM programs from across the New York RWPA eligible metropolitan area (the five boroughs of New York City and Rockland, Putman, and Westchester counties). We developed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with four attributes: (1) Type of ART Medication (daily pills or LAI), (2) Service Location and Mode, (3) Support, and (4) Rewards. We used an alternative-specific design in which the levels for the last three attributes were dependent on levels within the first (Type of ART). Latent class multinomial logit analysis (LCA) was used for preference estimation and hypothesis-free investigation of preference heterogeneity.

From June 2022 through January 2023, 200 New York RWPA MCM clients completed the DCE. We selected a two-group LCA solution. A majority of participants had a higher preference for LAI regimens compared to daily pills (n=114 [57%] versus n=86 [43%]). Those who preferred LAI ART were younger (median age 49 versus 58.5 years, p<0.001), less likely to identify as straight/heterosexual (69% versus 82%, p=0.03), and more likely to identify as Latino/a (54% versus 30%; p<0.001). Preferences for service locations/mode, supports, and rewards were similar across LCA groups. Participants who preferred LAI ART were more likely to have heard of LAI ART before the survey (59% versus 41%, p=0.012). Overall, only 4% of participants self-reported having tried LAI ART.

Assessing preferences among groups under-represented in clinical trials is essential to effective and equitable real-world implementation of innovative treatment options. Our study found that there were distinct groups that differed in their preferred ART regimen type and that New York RWPA MCM clients had limited familiarity with LAI ART. To inform regimen selection, we began pilot-testing educational materials and a patient-provider decision-making tool in 2023.