Ask Me About PrEP (AMAP) is a pilot project funded in England through the Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Innovation Fund and in Wales through Public Health Wales.

The pilot started in England in October 2021 and in Wales in March 2022. It pilots the impact of training and supporting peer mobilisers in talking to their peers about PrEP. Each peer mobiliser will be asked to talk to around 20 people about PrEP. We want to know more about how information about PrEP ‘diffuses’ beyond the peer mobilisers, and the people they speak with.

Who can take part in AMAP?

You can take part if you currently live in Wales, and if you see yourself as a peer of one of the key groups of people that will currently most benefit from PrEP. We especially encourage people who are currently using PrEP to take part.

Participation in England is currently closed - please email hello@prepster.info if you'd like to be notified when enrolment starts again.

What does it involve?

You’ll be asked to attend a 90-minute online training and empowerment event, along with other peer mobilisers. During that event you’ll learn more about the project and the support that’s available to you. You’ll be asked to fill out a short survey after the mobiliser event, about your experience of being part of the event.

What happens after the mobiliser event?

After you’ve done the 90-minute mobiliser event, you’ll be supported to talk to around 20 people about PrEP. These could be online conversations, via your social media, or real-world chats in the places you socialise, work, study or live. It’ll be up to you how you do this and there will be no pressure to do anything outside of your comfort zone! We’ll provide you with tools to make it easier to strike up those conversations – such as tee shirts, stickers and online assets. You’ll be asked to keep a short record of all the conversations you have with people about PrEP.

What on-going support can I expect?

When you do your mobiliser event, you’ll be assigned a link-person from the PrEPster team. That person will be available to help you with referrals, or if there’s a question you get about PrEP that you can’t answer. They’ll also ask you and your other mobilisers if you want to meet online from time-to-time to discuss how things are going. We promise: there won’t be lots of unnecessary meetings!

Do I have to be a PrEP expert to take part?

Absolutely not! Whilst we know that some of the people taking part will know all the ins-and-outs of PrEP, we don’t expect everyone to be a PrEPspert! We’ll provide you with information and resources to support your conversations about PrEP – and there will be a link-person in the team to support you.

Do I need to have taken PrEP to take part?

Nope! However, we’re especially keen to hear from people who are currently using PrEP or who have had recent experience of using it. PrEP users tell us they found out about PrEP from other users – and PrEP users know most about how to access it, how to take it, and the challenges and opportunities of using it. Never used PrEP? Not a problem – we’d still love to hear from you!

Do I need to be fluent in English to take part?

You don’t need to be fluent in English and we aim to have one mobiliser event for Spanish speakers and one for Portuguese speakers. For participants in Wales, we will be able to provide Welsh translation during mobiliser events and Welsh language information. At this time we won’t be able to provide events and support in other languages.

This is a pilot – will I have to take part in research as part of it?

In addition to the end of mobiliser survey (mentioned above) and the short record-keeping of PrEP conversations (also mentioned above), there will be focus groups for mobilisers to talk about experiences in the project. These will be undertaken by an independent research team. You do not have to commit to take part in the focus groups to join the project. They are optional.

I’m not sure this is for me. Can I attend the mobiliser event and then decide?

If you’re not sure right now if you have time to take part in the project, or if you’re unsure if this is for you, then please don’t sign up - we have limited mobiliser event places available. If you’d like to chat about taking part, to help you make your mind up, one of the team would be happy to talk with you. Contact us on hello@prepster.info with your contact details.

Do I get paid or reimbursed for taking part in this project?

We are unable to offer payment or reimbursement for involvement in the project. If you complete the mobiliser event, you will be sent free materials – such as a tee shirt and tote bag. All mobilisers who complete the pilot will be provided with an official certificate of involvement.

I applied to take part but I haven’t heard back from you – what should I do?

We respond to EVERY individual who submits an online form within 48 hours. Please check your junk or spam folder – it’s likely there’s info waiting for you there!

I’ve seen the materials for the AMAP pilot – how can I get hold of them?

Because this is a pilot that’s trying to evaluate the impact of training and supporting peer mobilisers, most of the AMAP materials – including the tee-shirts, stickers, tote bags, and online assets - are only currently available to the people we trained.

I work in sexual health and me and my team would like PrEP training – can we get it by enrolling on this?

The AMAP programme is NOT a general PrEP training package. If you or your team require specific training please contact us at hello@prepster.info. Please do not enrol on a mobiliser events if you are only using it for PrEP training.