Willingness to Switch to Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine Every 2 Months for People Living with HIV in Nanjing, China

Daily oral medication is currently the most common antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH). As the first complete long-acting (LA) ART regimen, cabotegravir (CAB) and rilpivirine (RPV), offer a novel treatment approach with less frequent administration, via bimonthly infusion. Due to the upcoming availability of this regimen in China, the study aimed to analyze the willingness and reasons of PLWH to switch to CAB+RPV therapy. A questionnaire survey among PLWH receiving oral ART was carried out between March 25 and April 8, 2023, in the Second Hospital of Nanjing, China. Participants were asked about their willingness to switch to the CAB+RPV LA regimen and provided reasons for their decision. We analyzed the reasons for switching, and the factors affecting their willingness were analyzed by multinomial logistic regression. Among 693 participants, 56.7% expressed willingness to switch to the CAB+RPV regimen, 32.6% were uncertain, and 10.7% were unwilling. The primary reason for switching to CAB+RPV therapy was not being concerned about daily adherence to ART (22.6%). Uncertainty about switching was mainly associated with participants' concerns in terms of price (31.6%) and safety (31.1%) of the novel drugs. Unwillingness was mainly due to participants' satisfaction with their current treatment regimen (20.3%). In multivariate analysis, higher education (odds ratio [OR]: 2.990; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.171–7.636) was positively associated with willingness to switch, whereas the age of ≥60 (OR: 0.142; 95% CI: 0.036–0.554) was negatively associated. Our survey demonstrated that the majority of PLWH were willing to switch to CAB+RPV therapy, mainly due to its improved convenience and reduced risk of disease exposure. However, their concerns regarding price, efficacy, and safety could be the key challenges for the clinical implementation of the CAB+RPV LA regimen in the future.