Primary Care Provider Training - Prescribing PrEP
Training healthcare providers and students about prescribing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV.
Created by CBRC
CBRC offers a free online training program for healthcare providers focused on prescribing PrEP. While the program is centred on physicians and nurse practitioners, anyone is welcome to register and complete the course.
Addressing Barriers to Access - PrEP as HIV Prevention
Through consultations with community members, CBRC Atlantic identified that among local healthcare providers, a lack of training in prescribing PrEP presented a key barrier to access for GBT2Q guys. In response, CBRC and a partner organization (prideHealth) organized a pilot training session for primary care providers. The training program is the outcome of this work.
Originally envisioned as an in-person event, the pandemic shifted it to an online platform through Teachable.com.
How does Primary Care Provider Training work?
CBRC’s Prescribing PrEP course takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete and is completely self-directed. Participants can take the course at their own pace, coming back to it as they are able.
The training includes six elements:
An introduction to modern approaches and issues with HIV; supplied by Garry Dart from the AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia.
An overview of prescribing PrEP; provided by Dr. Glenn Andrea, a physician from Dalhousie University.
A recording of a Q&A event held in summer of 2020 with Garry Dart, Dr. Andrea, and moderated by the program coordinator.
a. Some questions were solicited in advance during course registration (this was removed from the registration form after the live event) and others were generated through discussion during the Q&A.
A quiz to demonstrate knowledge
An evaluation form.
A certificate of completion.
An important way CBRC ensured the training would be attractive to physicians was to apply for Mainpro accreditation, so physicians who take the course can apply the time spent to their ongoing professional development requirements. As this accreditation was done through the Nova Scotia chapter of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, CBRC does not actively recruit physicians outside of that province to participate. However, any physician is able to register, complete the course, and receive their Mainpro accreditation certificate.
CBRC also promotes this program to nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers.
Recruitment and Resources
Initial recruitment was achieved through targeted email to care providers for Nova Scotia Health and community-based organization partners. Word of mouth also became an important recruitment factor.
During registration, participants are asked to list where they found the course - many indicating they discovered the course through Facebook groups or student emails. CBRC also released a paid advertisement targeting nurse practitioners through our social media.
The initiative is led by a single program coordinator - dedicated to recruiting presenters, completing accreditation, coordinating recorded presentations and liaising with partners and contractors. It also benefits from the contributions of guest presenters (one for an introduction to modern HIV prevention and a physician to lead a session on prescribing PrEP). Both of these individuals also participated in a panel discussion including community members with lived experience and additional providers to address inquiries from practitioners.
The initial program costs included:
Teachable platform: ~$3,000 USD (a less expensive package could cover the cost but ultimately more courses were added)
Honoraria for presenters and panelists: $750 ($300 each for an hour-long recorded presentation and $75 for panel participation for two presenters)
Video editing (audio quality, closed captioning): $1,725
MainPro accreditation: $472.50
Promotional costs: $150 for Facebook boosted posts
Note: The course was later extended for an additional year, requiring renewals for both Teachable and Mainpro accreditation. Promotion may also be repeated.
Material Resources
Registration forms (Google Forms)
Teachable.com or a similar online platform
An online resource folder with links to other relevant training and resources
Evaluation forms (Google Forms)
Challenges
In order to benefit from Mainpro accreditation, CBRC’s promotion efforts were focused on Nova Scotia, which limits the potential reach of the training. This was addressed by advertising to nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers.
Ensuring all participants completed the course could be a time-consuming endeavour. While many participants began the course, some individuals stalled out despite the relatively short amount of time required for completion. While Teachable does allow coordinators to track individual and collective progress, it does not generate reports specifically showing who is falling behind .
Successes
ACT aims to provide patient-centered care that addresses healthcare access barriers experienced by cis and trans gay, bi, queer guys. The data from the pilot’s Service User’s Feedback Survey helps indicate the success of ACT’s efforts to improve service accessibility:
The following indicators were measured using a 5-point scale (1 being very dissatisfied and 5 being very satisfied). These scores indicate a very positive user experience through a weighted average of 244 responses:
Comfort of the waiting room: 4.90
Ease of the intake process: 4.93
Time waited in the waiting room: 4.75
Tester’s professionalism: 4.95
Comfort level with tester: 4.91
Overall experience: 4.93
When asked, how likely are you to return to ACT’s HIV testing and mental health counselling services (1 being not returning and 5 being very likely), respondents’ weighted average score is a very positive 4.63.
Program Materials
Once registered, course participants can view the following on http://cbrc.teachable.com:
Recorded presentations
Recorded discussion
Quiz
For further information, please contact:
Kirk Furlotte, Atlantic Regional Manager
Community-Based Research Centre
kirk.furlotte@cbrc.net
902-449-4954
7071 Bayers Road, Starlite 302
Halifax, NS
B3L 2C2