Crowdsourcing strategies to improve access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Australia, the Philippines, and China

Introduction Many Asian countries have yet to scale up HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Innovative strategies to increase PrEP uptake are needed. This study examined the use of crowdsourcing to increase PrEP uptake by describing and analysing the experiences of Australia, the Philippines, and China. Methods Three crowdsourcing open calls were conducted between 2021-2022 in Australia, the Philippines and China. Crowdsourcing has a group of individuals solve all or part of a problem, then share back solutions with the public. All open calls entailed: 1) problem identification; 2) committee formation with local groups; 3) community engagement for idea submission; 4) evaluation of submissions; 5) awarding incentives to finalists; and 6) solution dissemination via web and social media. We examined the number of total and high-quality submissions. We also identified themes across countries. Results The Australia, Philippines, and China teams received 9, 22 and 19 eligible submissions, respectively. A total of three, 10, and eight submissions had a mean score of 6/10 or greater. Three common solutions emerged across all the finalist ideas: enhancing service delivery; optimizing promotional campaigns; person-centered promotional materials. The winning ideas from the Australian, Filipino and Chinese teams were an anonymous online PrEP service, a printed ready-to-wear garment to create awareness about PrEP, and a poster on PrEP effectiveness, respectively. Conclusions Crowdsourcing can be a promising and versatile tool for developing PrEP strategies in Asia. Further evaluations via clinical trials can bridge the gap between idea generation and implementation, thus, creating the empirical evidence pivotal for the policy adoption of these innovations.