Abstract
England’s PrEP Impact Trial ran between 2017 and 2020. This chapter centres on the policy events that first gave rise to the trial underpinned the trial’s genesis. Interviews with key stakeholders demonstrate that rather than achieving its aims as practical implementation trial that might have enabled and shared learning on the best ways to roll out PrEP, instead the Impact trial was designed and maintained as a ‘show trial’ to help manage a policy and financial impasse. Those interviewed tended to observe that because Impact’s power dynamics were rooted in traditional hierarchies about the production of evidence, this undermined its use as anything more than a stop-gap. Ultimately, rather than enabling the sharing of lessons for those planning the imminent launch of England’s future PrEP services, this trial’s legacy will instead be largely about the divisions and inequalities that it has exacerbated.
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Notes
- 1.
Notable organisations involved nationally and internationally include: Porn4Prep, I Want PrEP Now, Prepster, ActUp London, Sophia Forum and United4PrEP.
- 2.
A few of those interviewed did note that a change in the clinical leadership part way through the study had brought some renewed opportunity for dialogue.
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Dodds, C. (2021). Implementation Science or ‘Show’ Trial? England’s PrEP Impact Study. In: Bernays, S., Bourne, A., Kippax, S., Aggleton, P., Parker, R. (eds) Remaking HIV Prevention in the 21st Century. Social Aspects of HIV, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69819-5_12
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