Patient Participant Perspectives on Implementation of Long-Acting Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine: Results From the Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine Implementation Study in European Locations (CARISEL) Study.

Introduction: CARISEL is an implementation-effectiveness "hybrid" study examining the perspectives of people living with HIV-1 (patient study participants [PSPs]) on cabotegravir (CAB) plus rilpivirine (RPV) long-acting (LA) dosed every 2 months (Q2M) across 5 European countries.
Methods: PSPs completed questionnaires on acceptability (Acceptability of Intervention Measure), appropriateness (Intervention Appropriateness Measure), and feasibility (Feasibility of Intervention Measure) at their first (Month [M] 1), third (M4), and seventh (M12) injection visits. Semistructured qualitative interviews were also conducted.
Results: Overall, 437 PSPs were enrolled, of whom 430 received treatment. Median (interquartile range) age was 44 (37-51) years, 25.3% (n = 109/430) were female (sex at birth), and 21.9% (n = 94/430) were persons of color. Across time points, PSPs found CAB + RPV LA highly acceptable, appropriate, and feasible (mean scores ≥4.47/5). Qualitative data supported these observations.
Conclusions: PSPs found CAB + RPV LA Q2M to be an acceptable, appropriate, and feasible treatment option.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: CAG, RM, RT, JS, MP-B, MA-K, BH, AdR, PM and MC are employees of ViiV Healthcare and may be stockholders of GSK. MvdV has received research grants and fees for participation in advisory boards from ViiV, MSD and Gilead. JP reports grants from Gilead and ViiV Healthcare and payments from lectures from Gilead and Janssen. EJ has received speaking fees or consulting activities from ViiV and Gilead laboratories and hospitality and congress registrations from ViiV, Gilead, MSD and Pfizer laboratories. LB and TL have no conflicts of interest to report. SBA, ELL, MH and NB are employees of Evidera who were paid by GSK/ViiV Healthcare to conduct the CARISEL study. NS is the director of London Safety and Training Solutions Ltd, which offers training and improvement and implementation solutions to healthcare organisations and the pharmaceutical industry.