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High rates of relationship dissolution among pregnant women living with HIV (PWLHIV) and their male partners might increase mothers' and children's vulnerability to financial hardship and poor health outcomes. This mixed methods analysis identified factors associated with separation between PWLHIV and their male partners. We utilized data from a randomized controlled trial ( www.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03484533) of 500 PWLHIV attending antenatal care in Uganda and 237 male partners between 2018 and 2020 and followed until 12 months postpartum. Multivariate regression models estimated the impact of relationship factors on the adjusted relative risk of separation during follow up, and we conducted in-depth interviews with 45 women and 45 men enrolled in the trial. Overall, 23% of PWLHIV reported separation during the study period. HIV serodifferent status, financial burdens and gender expectations were sources of relationship conflict. Significant factors associated with separation included unmarried, non-cohabitating, shorter, polygamous relationships, as well as HIV non-disclosure and verbal abuse. Participants discussed potential positive and negative consequences of separation, including impact on their mental health, treatment continuation, financial security, and safety. Addressing relationship dynamics is essential to improve counseling messaging and support PWLHIV who are experiencing relationship conflict., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Low perceived HIV risk is a barrier to effective pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among African adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Single-item risk perception measures are stigmatizing and alienating to AGYW and may not predict PrEP use. There is a need for a tool capturing domains of perceived HIV risk and salience that align with PrEP use among AGYW. This HIV PrEP study was conducted in Kampala, Uganda. We developed and piloted the 9-item "HIV Salience and Perception" (HPS) scale (range: 9-36); higher scores indicate beliefs of higher vulnerability to HIV. We administered the scale to Ugandan AGYW participating in an ongoing cohort study at enrollment, one, three and six months. PrEP dispensing was measured quarterly and adherence was measured daily via Wisepill (high adherence: ≥80% of expected pill bottle openings). We assessed scale performance and used generalized estimating equations to determine associations between scale score and PrEP use. Among 499 AGYW, 54.1% of our sample was ≥ 20 years (range:16-25). The median HPS score was 18 (range:8-33; α = 0.77). Higher score was associated with PrEP dispensing (aRR = 1.07 per point increase; 95% CI = 1.01-1.13; p-value = 0.02) in the overall cohort and among only those ≥ 20 years (aRR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.03-1.19; p-value = 0.01). We did not observe an association between scale score and PrEP adherence. AGYW scoring higher on a novel HPS scale were more likely to initiate and obtain PrEP refills through 6 months. This scale may capture drivers of PrEP dispensing and could inform PrEP delivery and counseling for AGYW., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)