Assessing readiness to implement long-acting injectable HIV antiretroviral therapy: provider and staff perspectives

Background Long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (LAI-ART) represents the next innovation in HIV therapy. Pre-implementation research is needed to develop effective strategies to ensure equitable access to LAI-ART to individuals living with HIV. Methods We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) with providers and staff affiliated with HIV clinics in San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta to understand barriers to and facilitators of LAI-ART implementation. Participants also completed a short survey about implementation intentions. FGDs were held via video conference, recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using domains associated with the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Results Between September 2020 and April 2021, we led 10 FDGs with 49 participants, of whom ~60% were prescribing providers. Organizational readiness for implementing change was high, with 85% agreeing to being committed to figuring out how to implement LAI-ART. While responses were influenced by the unique inner and outer resources available in each setting, several common themes, including implementation mechanisms, dominated: (1) optimism and enthusiasm about LAI-ART was contingent on ensuring equitable access to LAI-ART; (2) LAI-ART shifts the primary responsibility of ART adherence from the patient to the clinic; and (3) existing clinic systems require strengthening to meet the needs of patients with adherence challenges. Current systems in all sites could support the use of LAI-ART in a limited number of stable patients. Scale-up and equitable use would be challenging or impossible without additional personnel. Participants outlined programmatic elements necessary to realize equitable access including centralized tracking of patients, capacity for in-depth, hands-on outreach, and mobile delivery of LAI-ART. Sites further specified unknown logistical impacts on implementation related to billing/payer source as well as shipping and drug storage. Conclusions Among these HIV care sites, clinic readiness to offer LAI-ART to a subset of patients is high. The main challenges to implementation include concerns about unequal access and a recognition that strengthening the clinic system is critical.