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Women who acquire HIV during the pregnancy and breastfeeding periods have a higher risk of transmitting the virus to their child than women who become infected with HIV before pregnancy. We explore the context of sexual beliefs and practices that may shape both HIV risk and willingness to use HIV prevention products during pregnancy and postpartum in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Twenty-three single sex focus group discussions and 36 in-depth interviews took place between May and November 2018 with recently pregnant or breastfeeding women, men, mothers and mothers-in-law of pregnant or breastfeeding women, and key informants. Participants across study groups and sites (N = 232) reported various perceived benefits and harms of sex during pregnancy and postpartum. Participants discussed reasons why men might seek sex outside of the relationship. There is a critical need for alternative prevention options to protect pregnant and breastfeeding women from HIV.

We analyzed data from 1428 users of the dapivirine vaginal ring, who participated in the MTN-020/ASPIRE phase III trial and subsequent open-label extension MTN-025/HOPE trial, to examine relationships between perceived ring protection, social disclosures, and self-reported ring adherence. In HOPE, 77% perceived the ring to be highly effective, and this view was associated with speaking: (a) to a greater number of people about the study, (b) with other participants, (c) to more people who were in favor of the ring, and (d) to more people whose opinions were valued. Reported adherence was not directly associated with perceived protection but was associated with disclosing to someone who was in favor of the ring. These findings suggest the importance of women’s internalized ideas about the protective benefits of the DVR in sharing information about the ring and the importance of social support on adherence.

We evaluated the acceptability of the 25 mg dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR) as an HIV prevention intervention and its influence on DVR adherence in the MTN-020/ASPIRE phase III trial. Acceptability measures were captured using ACASI at month 3 and end of product use (median 24 months, IQR 15–30). Monthly returned rings were classified as nonadherent if dapivirine release rate was ≤ 0.9 mg/month. Associations between acceptability measures and nonadherence were estimated using Poisson regression models with robust standard errors. At month 3 (N = 2334), 88% reported DVR was comfortable, 80% were unaware of it during daily activities, and 74% never felt it during sex. At exit, 66% were ‘very likely’ to use DVR in the future. Acceptability was found to differ significantly by country across several measures including wearing the ring during sex, during menses, partner acceptability, impact on sexual pleasure and willingness to use the ring in the future. Risk of nonadherence at month 12 was elevated if DVR was felt during sex at month 3 (aRR 1.67, 95% CI 1.26, 2.23). Risk of nonadherence in the last year of study participation was elevated if, at exit, participants minded wearing during sex (aRR 2.08, 95% CI 1.52, 2.85), during menses (aRR 1.57, 95% CI 1.06, 2.32), reported a problematic change to the vaginal environment (aRR 1.57, 95% CI 1.12, 2.21), and were not “very likely” to use DVR in the future (aRR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02, 1.68). DVR acceptability was overall high yet varied by country. Addressing perceived ring interference with sex, menses, or problematic changes to the vaginal environment in future interventions could help improve adherence, as could embracing sex-positive messaging related to ring use and increased pleasure. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01617096. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10461-021-03205-z.