An exploratory study of nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and intentions about HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Hong Kong

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is one of the methods to reduce the risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection among people exposed to high risk of HIV infection. However, the usage of HIV PrEP is inadequate among the public and healthcare providers in Hong Kong. It may be due to limited knowledge and misunderstanding of PrEP among healthcare providers.

<b>Objective:</b> To explore the knowledge, attitude, and intention of PrEP among nursing students in Hong Kong.

<b>Method:</b> A cross-sectional survey is designed exploring the knowledge, attitudes, and intentions of PrEP in Hong Kong nursing students at the University. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants. Sixty year-five nursing students completed the self-reported questionnaire in November 2023. Ethical approval was obtained from the Saint Francis University Research and Ethics Committee. Data analysis used the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 27.

<b>Result:</b> The findings revealed that overall PrEP knowledge score was 1.3 out of 10. Over 70% of participants agreed that PrEP should be recommended for high-risk HIV infection populations. Participants showed a significant increase in the intention of receiving PrEP if they were members of a population with a high risk of HIV infection after gaining knowledge about PrEP (Before: 63.3% and After: 76.7%; p=0.012).

<b>Implication & Conclusion:</b> Our findings revealed nursing students' lack of knowledge about PrEP to provide crucial information to populations at high risk for HIV infection; positive attitudes and intentions towards PrEP and HIV were found among nursing students, reflecting their willingness to engage in PrEP to prevent HIV transmission.