Table 10.

Summary of Findings and Possible Implications for HIV Treatment and Cure/Remission Research

Summary of findings	Possible implications
• 42% of respondents would be willing to switch from oral daily ART to long-acting ART injectables or implantables taken at 6-month intervals. • 24% of respondents who would prefer a new ART-free HIV remission strategy.	• A variety of therapeutic options should be provided to PLWHIV in the future.
	• Researchers and HIV care providers should attend to patients' risk tolerance for being on/off ART and side effects before propositions to switch to new HIV therapeutic or research options.
	• Decision tools and educational materials for patients may help them better assess possible risks, benefits, and trade-offs.
	• More research is needed to understand patient preferences in diverse populations.
• There are important gender differences in perceptions of risk and preferences of HIV control strategies. For example, cisgender and transgender women may be less willing to tolerate risks.	• Gender preferences need to be considered in planning and implementing HIV treatment and remission research efforts, particularly to reduce barriers to participation in research.
• Cisgender and transgender women were also more motivated by having regular access to a study nurse, having someone to speak to, receiving support, and financial compensation for participating in HIV cure/remission research.
• Desirable life-changing improvements in an HIV control strategy for PLWHIV would be (1) not having replication-competent HIV inside the body, (2) no longer taking oral daily ART, and (3) more confidence in not being able to pass HIV to others.	• The perspectives and desires of PLWHIV should inform target product profiles for HIV control and remission strategies. Behavioral and social sciences research methods can be used to prioritize strategies that move forward into human testing.
	• Efforts aimed at completely eliminating HIV from the body should continue alongside efforts to achieve sustained ART-free HIV remission.
	• Community expectations about HIV cure and remission options should be managed to reduce therapeutic misconceptions.
• Nearly 60% of respondents stated they would be unlikely to switch to a new HIV remission strategy if there were a very small increase in the risk they could transmit HIV to a partner.	• HIV treatment interruptions can cause relapse in viremia and increase the possibility of transmitting HIV to sexual partners. HIV cure/remission research teams should provide adequate protection measures to sexual partners of those undergoing analytical treatment interruptions (e.g., appropriate counseling, PrEP referral or provision, and HIV testing).
• 59% of survey respondents viewed increased confidence that they would not pass HIV to others as a significant life-changing improvement.
• Psychosocial and mental health factors may mediate willingness to switch to novel HIV treatment or remission research options. For example, one of the main deterrents of participating in HIV remission research is the fear of developing dementia.	• HIV cure/remission research efforts should incorporate mental health assessments throughout the course of participation to ensure well-being of study participants.
	• There may be neurological impacts of interventions or HIV treatment interruptions to consider (e.g., viral loads in cerebrospinal fluid could be assessed to address concerns such as central nervous system viral escape).

PLWHIV, people living with HIV.