About HOPE PROJECT
HOPE is a global project aiming to reduce HIV transmission in East and Southeast Asia by optimizing the roll-out, implementation, and real-world effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
To this end, our specific goals are to:
- Generate new knowledge and solutions to optimize the use of PrEP
- Translate research and community insights into accessible forms for PrEP program and policy development
By establishing a network of regional experts from research, communities and policymakers, we will co-design intervention strategies with key populations to improve PrEP care adherence and persistence among key populations. These strategies will be informed by socially innovative methods (e.g., crowdsourcing, designation and discrete choice experiments) and implemented in each country site.
OVERALL PROJECT DESIGN
Three steps to achieve our goal of ending HIV transmission in East and Southeast Asia:
- Building connections with the research community and key populations
- Enhancing capacity building in local sites through cross-sector collaboration, nurturing young investigators, and public sharing of knowledge (Masterclass)
- Changing the HIV prevention landscape by optimizing PrEP implementation
HOPE network activities
Four main components of research activities:
| Generate public health solutions through crowdsourcing to optimize PrEP adherence | |
| Identify prioritized solutions through health preference research | |
| Implement the identified solutions through experience or quasi-experimental research | |
| Conduct economic evaluation of the proposed solutions |
To this end, HOPE adopts a collaborative approach that aims to generate community-driven and cost-effective public health solutions. We will first start by using participatory research methodologies (crowdsourcing open calls and discrete choice experiments) to identify community-driven solutions to optimize PrEP effectiveness in each country site, and then implement and evaluate these solutions through trials.
We bring together regional experts in HIV prevention and key populations that are affected by the HIV epidemic:
- PrEP implementation, health preference research and economic evaluation led by the Australian and Singaporean teams
- Key population-led health services (KPLHS) led by the Thai and Vietnamese teams. KPLHS ensures client-centred care as services are designed and co-delivered by members of key population communities.
- Experience working with key populations to initiate PrEP led by the Chinese, Philippines, Indonesian and Malaysian teams
- Crowdsourcing and designathons, such as generating PrEP demand in Thailand, improving sexual health in Australia, and improving youth innovation in the Philippines, led by the Australian, Singapore, Japanese, US, UK and Chinese teams
Quarterly meetings and annual workshops to strengthen our network, keep track of the progress, and enhance the knowledge among young investigators, which they can use to conduct or improve their studies.
Our accomplishments since establishing our network in 2022.
- Events
| Activity | Period | HOPE regional team |
| Crowdsourcing open calls | Apr-Sep 2022 | Australia |
| Nov-Dec 2023 | Thailand | |
| Oct-Nov 2022 | Philippines | |
| Designathon | Oct-Dec 2022 | Australia |
| Nov-Dec 2023 | Thailand | |
| Jan-Feb 2023 | Philippines | |
| Qualitative interviews | Jul-Dec 2022 | Australia |
| Nov-Dec 2023 | Thailand | |
| Discrete choice experiment | Jan-June 2023 | Australia |
| Nov-Dec 2024 | Thailand | |
| Implementation | Apr 2023-Mar 2024 | Australia |
| 1st HOPE Network Meeting & Crowdsoucing Workshop | Mar 2022 | US |
| 2nd HOPE Network Meeting & Crowdsoucing Workshop | June 2022 | UK |
| 3rd HOPE Network Meeting & Designathon Workshop | October 2022 | Australia, US |
| 4th HOPE Network Meeting & Discrete Choice Experiment in Health Research Workshop | June 2023 | Australia |
| 5th HOPE Workshop: Medical Artificial Intelligence in Infectious Diseases | June 2024 | Australia |
| Design with and for young people: An ideation workshop to co-develop solutions to HIV challenges faced by young people in low- and middle-income countries | July 2025 | Australia, UK |
| Participatory approaches in sexual health: A participatory workshop and launch of WHO/TDR practical guide | September 2025 | Australia, UK |
- Publications
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen*, Arturo M. Ongkeko Jr.*, Zhuoheng Yin*, Krittaporn Termvanich*, Artit Wongsa, Joseph D. Tucker, Weiming Tang, Chunyan Li, Ying Zhang, Nina T. Castillo-Carandang#, Jason J. Ong#. Crowdsourcing strategies to improve access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and China. Under review by BMC ID. Preprint – http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4733898 |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Benjamin R. Bavinton , Heather-Marie A. Schmidt, Curtis Chan, Kim E. Green, Nittaya Phanuphak, Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Nicky S. Suwandi, Doug Fraser, Hua Boonyapisomparn, Michael Cassell, Lei Zhang, Weiming Tang, Jason J. Ong. Preferences for pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender women in 15 countries and territories in Asia and Australia: a discrete choice experiment. Under review by Nature Human Behaviour. Preprint – https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3410105/v1 |
| · Zhao R, Fairley CK, Cook AR, Phanuphak N, He SY, Tieosapjaroen W, Chow EPF, Phillips TR, Tan RKJ, Wei YH, Shen MW, Zhuang GH, Ong JJ, Zhang L. Optimising HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and testing strategies in men who have sex with men in Australia, Thailand, and China: a modelling study and cost-effectiveness analysis. Lancet Global Health. 2024;12(2):e243-256. DOI 10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00536-3 |
| · Zhang Y, Johnson CC, Nguyen V, Ong JJ. Role of HIV self-testing in strengthening HIV prevention services. The Lancet HIV 2024;11(11):e774-782. DOI 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00187-5 |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen*, Elizabeth Chen*, Tiarney Ritchwood, Chunyan Li, Jamie L. Conklin, Abdulhammed Babatunde, Arturo Ongkeko, Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Joseph D. Tucker and Jason J. Ong (2024). Designathons in health research: a global systematic review. BMJ Global Health, 9(3), e013961. DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013961 |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Curtis Chan, Benjamin R. Bavinton, Heather-Marie Schmidt, Doug Fraser, Kimberly E. Green, Nittaya Phanuphak, Michael Cassell, Lei Zhang, Weiming Tang, Dean Murphy, Jason J. Ong. Preferences for Pre-exposure prophylaxis among MSM in Australia: a Discrete Choice Experiment. Submitted to the Sexually Transmitted Infections |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen*, Yoshiko Sakuma*, Dan Wu, Hayley Conyers, Joseph D. Tucker, Thomas Shakespeare, Fern Terris-Prestholt, John Guigayoma, Jason J. Ong†, Eneyi Edith Kpokiri† (2024). Preferences for sexual health services among middle-aged and older adults in the UK: a discrete choice experiment. Sexually Transmitted Infections. Doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2024-056236 |
| · Ung M, Martin S, Terris-Prestholt F, Quaife M, Tieosapjaroen W, Phillips T, Lee D, Chow EPF, Medland N, Bavinton BR, Pan SW, Mao LM, Ong JJ. Preferences for HIV prevention strategies among newly arrived Asian-born men who have sex with men living in Australia: a discrete choice experiment. Frontiers in Public Health 2023;11:1018983. DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1018983 |
| · Kiggundu R, Soh QR, Tieosapjaroen W, Fairley CK, Tucker JD, Tang WM, Zhang L, Ong JJ. Restarting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis. eClinicalMedicine 2024;72:102647. DOI 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102647 |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Jason J. Ong, Christopher K. Fairley, Kanwal Saleem, Tiffany R. Phillips, Julien Tran, Catriona S. Bradshaw, Marcus Y. Chen, Eric P.F. Chow (2022). Trends and associated factors in HIV testing among heterosexual men and women in Melbourne, Australia, 2011-2020. Sexual Health. doi: 10.1071/SH22195. |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Ying Zhang, Christopher K. Fairley, Lei Zhang, Eric P.F. Chow, Tiffany R. Phillips, Heather-Marie A. Schmidt, Benjamin R. Bavinton, Darryl O’Donnell, Limin Mao, Andrew Grulich, Jason J. Ong (2023). Improving access to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV among international migrant populations. The Lancet Public Health, 8(8), e651–e658. DOI 10.1016/s2468-2667(23)00105-6 |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Limin Mao, Horas Wong, Sujith Kumar Prankumar, Eric P.F. Chow, Christopher K. Fairley, Tiffany R. Phillips, Lei Zhang, Jason J. Ong (2024). Factors associated with HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis use among Asian men who have sex with men in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia: a cross-sectional study. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 46, 101071. |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Arron Tran, Cham Kin, Marcus Maisano, Eric P.F. Chow, Christopher K. Fairley, Lei Zhang, Tiffany R. Phillips, Melanie Bissessor, Jason J. Ong. Trend and associated factors for late and advanced HIV diagnoses in 2011-2023 in Melbourne, Australia. DOI 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101071 |
| · Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Tiffany R Phillips, Eric PF Chow, Christopher K Fairley, Satrio Nindyo Istiko, Jason Wu, James Tapa, Limin Mao, Lei Zhang, David Wang, Budiadi Sudarto, Jason J Ong. Using online media to increase the awareness and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis among Asian-born MSM in Australia: An open-two-arm pilot randomised controlled trial. Under review by Open Forum Infectious Disesases |
- Presentations
| Date | Type of Presentation | Speaker, “Title”, Conference Name, Location, etc. |
| June 9, 2023 | Guest/Invited Speaker | Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Arturo M. Ongkeko, Weiming Tang, Joseph Tucker, Nina Castillo-Carandang, Nittaya Phanuphak, Jason J. Ong. How Communities were Engaged to Provide Solutions to Improve PrEP Awareness and Uptake Using Crowdsourcing – Experience from Philippines and Australia, APACC 2023, Singapore |
| August 28, 2024 | Guest/Invited Speaker | Warittha Tieosapjaroen, Arturo M. Ongkeko, Artit Wongsa, Zhuoheng Yin, Jason Ong. Implementing designathons to develop PrEP for HIV solutions in multiple countries to end HIV transmission in East Asia, HOPE x SIHI webinar, online |
| June 27, 2024 | Poster Session | Warittha Tieosapjaroen. Empowering communities to optimise uptake and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): Crowdsourcing open calls in Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and China. APACC 2024, Hong Kong |
| September 16, 2024 | Poster Session | Warittha Tieosapjaroen. Empowering communities to optimise uptake and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): Crowdsourcing open calls in Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and China. ASHM 2024, Sydney, Australia |
| June 9, 2023 | Oral Presentation | Warittha Tieosapjaroen. What Men Want: Preferences for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in 16 Countries in the Asia-Pacific: A Discrete Choice Experiment. APACC2023, Singapore |
| June 9, 2023 | Oral Presentation | Warittha Tieosapjaroen. Drivers of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Choice for Transgender Women in 11 Countries in Asia: A Discrete Choice Experiment. APACC 2023, Singapore |
| July 23, 2023 | Oral Presentation | Warittha Tieosapjaroen. Preference for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among Transgender Women in 11 Countries in Asia. IAS2023, Brisbane, Australia |
| June 28, 2024 | Oral Presentation | Warittha Tieosapjaroen. Preferences for PrEP among Men who Have Sex with Men in Australia: A Discrete Choice Experiment. APACC 2024, Hong Kong |