Strengthening health system’s capacity for pre-exposure prophylaxis for adolescent girls and young women and adolescent boys and young men in South Africa (SHeS’Cap–PrEP): Protocol for a mixed methods study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective prevention intervention that can be used to control HIV incidence especially among people who are at increased risk for HIV such as adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and adolescent boys and young men (ABYM). In South Africa, various approaches of delivering PrEP have been adopted at different service delivery points (facility-based only, school-based only, community-based only and hybrid school-facility and community-facility models) to overcome challenges associated with individual, structural, and health systems related barriers that may hinder access to and uptake of PrEP among these populations.