Prepping for PREP in Philadelphia

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Overview

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children (SCHC) is a pediatric hospital located in Philadelphia, PA with the mission of “[providing] quality pediatric services in a caring, progressive environment”. Within SCHC is the Dorothy Mann Center for Pediatric and Adolescent HIV, which works to provide both treatment and support for youth both with and at risk for HIV. Together, they are working to educate and provide support to all youth across Philadelphia.

Context

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children (SCHC) is located in an area with a high prevalence of HIV and treats many youth who are at various levels of risk in contracting HIV. Due to these factors SCHC requested a screening method that is quick to complete, comfortable for patients to answer and that can accurately stratify youth based on their risk of contracting HIV. Those who are high risk will be referred to the Dorothy Mann Center, a partner of SCHC, to be offered a prescription to PrEP, an HIV preventative medication.

Challenge

Getting high risk adolescents to begin using PrEP can be challenging. Often, they have little interaction with or knowledge of the healthcare system. Additionally, pediatrician knowledge about PrEP varies greatly. Adolescents at risk are often not aware that PrEP is an option for them.

Solution

To improve future inpatient PrEP screening services for at-risk adolescents, as well as to link adolescents to outpatient care for PrEP initiation, we created an app that include a screening survey to assess knowledge of and attitudes toward PrEP and to assign a risk-score to patients in order to identify those who may benefit from PrEP initiation. We also included a short video in order to educate survey participants on HIV and HIV prevention.

Results

This screening application has the ability to increase awareness of and education on HIV among youth in Philadelphia. Those who are at high risk of contracting HIV who visit St. Christopher’s Hospital will be able to gain access to a prescription for PrEP if they want it along with the resources and knowledge on how to prevent the spread of HIV through the Dorothy Mann Center.

Project Timeline

This project took six months to complete from kick-off meeting to presentation of final deliverables. Click the button below for a detailed timeline.

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