Patients' high acceptability of a future therapeutic HIV vaccine in France: a French paradox?

BACKGROUND: France is the European country with the lowest level of confidence in vaccines. Measurement of patients' acceptability towards a future therapeutic HIV vaccine is critically important. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate patients' acceptability of a future therapeutic HIV vaccine in a representative cohort of French patients living with HIV-AIDS (PLWHs). METHODS: This multicentre study used quantitative and qualitative methods to assess PLWHs' opinions and their potential acceptance of a future therapeutic HIV vaccine. Cross-sectional study on 220 HIV-1 infected outpatients, aged 18-75 years. RESULTS: The participants' characteristics were similar to those of the overall French PLWH population. Responses from the questionnaires showed high indices of acceptance: the mean score for acceptability on the Visual Analog Scale VAS was 8.4 of 10, and 92% of patients agreed to be vaccinated if a therapeutic vaccine became available. Acceptability depended on the expected characteristics of the vaccine, notably the duration of its effectiveness: 44% of participants expected it to be effective for life. This acceptance was not associated with socio-demographic, clinical (mode of contamination, duration of disease), quality of life, or illness-perception parameters. Acceptability was also strongly correlated with confidence in the treating physician. CONCLUSION: The PLWHs within our cohort had high indices of acceptance to a future therapeutic HIV vaccine. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was retroactively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with ID: NCT02077101 in February 21, 2014.

Positive relations between sexual quality of life and satisfaction with healthcare in women living with HIV and/or HCV: Results from a multicountry study.

INTRODUCTION: The sexual quality of life is a neglected concern in women living with HIV (WHIV) or with HCV (WHCV), which can further be affected by their experience with stigma, social instability, fear of transmission and reduced access to treatment. The objective of this study was to identify sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioural factors associated with sexual quality of life (SQoL) in this study group. METHODS: Between December 2017 and December 2018, PROQoL-Sex Life questionnaire was administered to 404 WHIV and WHCV in five countries. PROQoL-SQoL consists of four dimensions: positive sexual perception (Psp), stigma and social distress (Sti), soft sexual practices (Sof), sexual practices with a partner (Sp), all of which were scored from 0 to 100 and considered as main outcomes, lower scores mean better sexual quality of life. Linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate the association with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors. RESULTS: Of the participants analyzed, 191 were living with HCV, 180 with HIV and 33 with HIV and HCV, median age was 48. Among WHIV, a higher satisfaction with health care, and talking about sexuality with healthcare workers were associated with lower scores in all the dimensions of the SQoL, while psychoactive substance use was associated with lower scores of Sti and Sof. Moreover, higher satisfaction with health care, talking about sexuality with healthcare workers, and psychoactive substance use (except cocaine use) in WHCV were associated with lower scores in Psp, Sti, and Sof. Besides, cocaine use was associated with higher scores of Sof. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted strong relationship between the quality of health care, and psychoactive substance use (except cocaine) and the sexual quality of life in WHIV and WHCV in these five countries. These findings draw attention to the different interventions that can be proposed for improving the sexual quality of life.

Evaluating Clinician Expectations of mHealth Solutions to Increase Rapid-Screening for HIV and Hepatitis in Migrant Populations in France: Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Migrants underuse screening opportunities for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C despite elevated risk factors for contracting these infections. Language barriers are an often given as reasons for limiting access to services. Translation and communication apps increase communication and overall patient satisfaction in the patient-provider relationship. In the development and adoption of new technology, expectations play an important role. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore health care professionals' opinions and attitudes regarding their screening practices with migrants and their expectations for a new communication tool that could improve migrants' screening use. METHODS: In this qualitative study, a purposive (diverse) sampling method was used to invite doctors and nurses who conduct rapid screening tests with migrants from 4 centers of the French Office of Immigration and Integration in 3 geographic regions of France. Semistructured interviews were conducted to survey their opinions on the rapid testing of migrants, the use of telephone interpreters, the concept of health literacy, and their expectations of a new communication tool that could overcome language barriers and promote rapid screening in the new migrant population. RESULTS: In all, 20 interviews were conducted with 11 doctors and 9 nurses with a median age of 58 (range 25-67) years. Participants favored the integration of an innovative communication tool in the context of rapid screening of migrants. However, there were concerns related to the implementation and added value of the tool while migrants were already reluctant to be screened. Expectations were for a tool that would present information in simplified French or a chosen language but also supports a positive attitude toward screening. Health professionals also expressed the wish that the technology could help with the collection of health data. CONCLUSIONS: Feedback from health professionals provides a better understanding of potential formats, characteristics, functions, content, and use of an innovative, digital method to communicate with migrants with limited French proficiency. Findings contribute to the conceptual development of an electronic app and its implementation within the ApiDé study, which aims to validate a digital app to address language barriers to increase the use of screening among migrants with limited French proficiency in France.

Exploring the limitations of language interpretation: A qualitative study on clinicians' experiences at French Office of Immigration and Integration.

The concordance of communication between patients and health professionals is essential to promoting positive health outcomes. However, concordance may be broken where language barriers exist therefore creating a need to use interpretation services. This is the case when rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) of HIV, HBV, and HCV is offered to migrants. The use of interpreters to establish communication with patients having limited French proficiency (LFP) however, is often not used and can be problematic. Despite being offered, interpretation services are frequently underutilised, which makes communication challenging. This problem has not received enough attention in the literature, particularly in a technologically advanced setting where solutions may be found. Our objective was to explore how interpreters are used within the context of medical consultations when RDT for HIV, HBV, and HCV is offered to legal migrants with LFP. A cross-sectional qualitative study was used with a purposive sample that included doctors and nurses who had conducted rapid screening tests with migrants in four centers in France and who had access to interpretive services. Semi-structured interviews explored healthcare providers' (HP) use of interpreters at the OFII. The use of professional or ad hoc interpreters, telephone interpreters, and the equivalence of concepts such as health literacy between the HP and the interpreter were explored. The utility of a new tool to promote communication concordance was evaluated. Twenty interviews were conducted with eleven doctors and nine nurses with a median age of 58 years (25-67 years). All participants had access to interpretive services although many did not solicit them because of 1) unawareness on how to use the services, 2) preconceived notions of the length of time to involve an interpreter and how this would add to consultation times, or 3) the proximity of an ad hoc interpreter. Not using interpreter services could result in RDTs not being offered to immigrants. Subjects such as confidentiality, the embarrassment of a third party's presence, the lack of appropriate training and differing levels of health literacy were also discussed by participants. Insight from HPs allows us to better understand how both telephone and in-person interpretation are used, viewed, and why they are underused to communicate with limited French language skills patients. Our findings will help us develop a conceptual model for a digital communication tool to overcome barriers with migrant patients with limited French language skills.

Risk Prediction Score for Screening Asymptomatic Sexually Transmitted Infections in HIV-positive French Men Who Have Sex with Men (ANRS 9520 DRIVER).

OBJECTIVES: Asymptomatic sexually transmitted infections (STI) are frequent among men who have sex with men (MSM). Identifying asymptomatic STIs is a crucial issue, not only for secondary but also for primary prevention, as early treatment can reduce transmission risk. We aimed to develop a self-reported predictive score for early identification of asymptomatic STIs. METHODS: Participants provided clinical data and completed a self-administered questionnaire including sociodemographic variables and behaviors during the 6 previous months. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with asymptomatic STIs. We calculated the accuracy of the model by the non-parametric area (AUC) under the receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve to find the optimal discriminant threshold for screening. RESULTS: A total of 781 HIV-positive MSM were included with a mean age of 46.8 years. Asymptomatic STI prevalence was 13.2%. Detectable plasma HIV RNA (adjusted odds ratio (aOR [95% CI): 2.54 [1.23;5.25]), inconsistent condom use during anal sex (2.20 [1.36;3.56]), group sex (2.00 [1.15;3.45]), during or-genital practices (1.83 [1.12;3.01]), not being in stable relationship (1.70 [1.01;2.66] and an item from a sensation-seeking behavioral scale "I don't like watching porn videos" (1.61 [1.01;2.59] were associated with asymptomatic STI. AUC was 0.7 and with optimal threshold of 0.1082 for this model; sensitivity was 80.4%. Self-reported asymptomatic STI predictive score was built with this threshold according to the 6 factors in the final model. CONCLUSIONS: As this predictive score is not designed to be diagnostic, but to provide indications for diagnostic tests, its ease of administration and sensitivity remain the most important features. Its use in clinical practice for early detection of asymptomatic STIs potentially can reinforce STI primary and secondary prevention.

Trends in asymptomatic STI among HIV-positive MSM and lessons for systematic screening.

The burden of STIs is particularly high in HIV-infected MSM patients. A recent increase in STIs prevalence has been noticed in the US and western European countries. We aim to assess trends in asymptomatic STIs following the publication of recommendations for STIs screening, i.e. Chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (NG). Seventeen centers located in the Paris area participated in the study. All asymptomatic HIV-infected MSM patients attending a follow up consultation were proposed to participated in the study. Asymptomatic patients were included over 2 periods: period 1 from April to December 2015 and period 2 from September to December 2017. Etiologic diagnosis of STIs including hepatitis B, C, syphilis, was performed using a serological test, including a non-treponemal titer with a confirmatory treponemal assay for syphilis. CT and NG were screened using a nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs) on 3 anatomical sites, i.e. urine, rectal and pharyngeal. Overall, 781 patients were included: 490 and 291 in periods 1 and 2 respectively. Asymptomatic CT, NG, and syphilis were diagnosed in 7.5%, 4.8% and, 4.2% respectively. The rate of patients having a multisite asymptomatic infection was 10.2% and 21.1% for CT and NG respectively. The most frequently involved anatomical sites for CT and NG asymptomatic infections were anorectal (66.1% and 55.2% respectively) and pharyngeal (47.4% and 60.5% respectively). CT and NG asymptomatic infection increased by 1.3- and 2-fold respectively between the two periods while syphilis decreased by 3 folds. Our results encourage to reconsider multisite screening for CT and NG in asymptomatic HIV positive MSM as the yield of screening urinary samples only might be low. Despite the more systematic STI screening of asymptomatic HIV positive MSM the prevalence of STI is increasing in MSM in France. Therefore, this strategy has not led to alter CT and NG transmission. The decrease of syphilis might involve self-medication by doxycycline, and the intensification of syphilis screening.

Good acceptability of HIV, HBV, and HCV screening during immigration medical check-up amongst migrants in France in the STRADA study.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C amongst migrants in France is high. Thus, effective screening and follow-up is needed. The mandatory medical check-up for residency application is an opportunity to offer rapid HIV and hepatitis testing. The main objective of the STRADA study is to create a feasible and acceptable screening strategy for migrants. Within the STRADA study, this qualitative research examined the acceptability of conducting screening tests in the context of residency application. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study amongst legal migrants over 18 years of age with sufficient knowledge of the French, English, or Arabic language. Interviews were performed following a semi-structured interview guide of open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subsequently analyzed through thematic analysis. RESULTS: We interviewed 34 migrants. Mean age was 32.6 (min-max: 19, 59) years. The participants' region of origin was mostly Sub-Saharan Africa and the main reason for migrating to France was family reunification. Migrants' acceptability of HIV and hepatitis testing was high. Participants who accepted testing indicated a benefit for individual health and to avoid transmission. Most preferred rapid tests; reluctance was related to anxiety about the immediate results and the perceived reliability of rapid tests. Migrants' knowledge about HIV was satisfactory, but inadequate for hepatitis. Screening in the context of a compulsory medical visit did not present an obstacle for acceptability. Some expressed concern in the case of HIV but when explained, the independence between obtaining the residence permit along with screening and access to medical care was well understood. DISCUSSION: Medical check-ups at immigration centers is an opportunity to screen for HIV and hepatitis which is considered acceptable by migrants. Informing migrants that test results do not affect residency applications, and incorporating their preferences, are all important to optimize the acceptability of screening.

Future prospectives of sub-Saharan women living with HIV residing in France for more than seven years: prospective pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: In 2011, a French national survey of people living with HIV (PLHIV) has shown that 40% of persons diagnosed since 2003 are originated from sub-Saharan Africa, two thirds of them being women. For them, in the short term, access to social rights is a priority. Today, over 90% of PLHIV are treated effectively and with the aging of this population, questions about their future perspectives arise. Our service provides a multidisciplinary (medical, psychological, social) approach to PLHIV. The aim of our study is to describe the future perspectives of sub-Saharan women living with HIV residing in France for more than 7 years, because it is the time required for the implementation of fundamental rights and social insertion. Do they plan to return to their country of origin after their retirement? Does the HIV infection force them to stay in France? MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective pilot mono-centric study. Between January and April 2014, every HIV-infected woman born in a sub-Saharan country, resident in France for at least 7 years, attending for their routine outpatient visit was consecutively included. Data were collected through a structured, semi-directed interview made by their usual hospital physician or social worker. RESULTS: Consecutively, 76 women agreed to participate to the interview, none refused. Mean age: 42 years [26-70], time since HIV diagnosis: 12 years [1-25]. HIV diagnosis was made before arriving in France for 3% of them; in 33% diagnosis was made in the year of arrival; diagnosis made several years after arrival in 63%. Even if 69% of these women had been irregularly residing in France for a period, all of them had obtained a regular situation for residence and 50% acquired the French nationality. Mean duration of residence was 15 years [7-33]. Two thirds of them are employed. In the future, although 50% plan to have a shared residence between France and Africa, only 20% of them plan to settle back definitely in Africa and no woman declared that she would look for a medical follow up in Africa for their HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a good integration in France of HIV-infected sub-Saharan woman. Their links with Africa remain strong but very few plan to return in their country of origin due to lack of confidence in the African health infrastructures.

Generic antiretroviral drugs in developing countries: friends or foes?

Although second-line generic antiretroviral drugs are of great value in developing countries, there are concerns regarding their quality. We studied a generic Lopinavir/ritonavir (200/50  mg; Arga-L, India) marketed in the Republic of Congo but not prequalified by WHO. Despite adequate quantitative and qualitative drug content, Arga-L had a bio-availablility of 10% compared with Kaletra. To avoid selection of drug-resistant HIV, rigorous pharmacological monitoring of generic drugs not prequalified by WHO must be a priority.