OBJECTIVES : Although nonoccupational HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) has been proven to be efficacious in preventing HIV, it remains an underutilized prevention strategy in Nigeria. We conducted and overview of research studies on nPEP from 2002 to 2018 examining; awareness and knowledge of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP), the main events leading to exposure to potential HIV infection and the pattern of presentation and follow-up visit among exposed victims.

METHODS : : An electronic search on PubMed, PMC, CINAHL, Scopus, Medline and Google Scholar for published studies on nPEP from 2002 to 2018 was conducted using different combinations of the keywords: “HIV”, “nonoccupational”, “non-occupational”, “post-exposure”, “postexposure”, “prophylaxis” and “Nigeria”. From the 27 full text articles obtained from the search, only 5 articles met the inclusion criteria for this study. Conference abstracts and unpublished works were excluded.

RESULTS : About 25.4% of college students were aware of PEP. PEP awareness was significantly determined by the following factors: ever tested for HIV, nude picture exchanges, sex without condom, knowledge of partner’s HIV status. Across studies, exposed victims who presented for PEP were mostly females (64%-78%). Rape was the most frequently occurring reason for seeking nPEP (25.9%-64.1%). Although most patients presented for nPEP within 72 hours, follow up visits were generally low (0%-2%) across studies assessed, except for one study that reported a high follow up visit of 83.3%.

CONCLUSIONS : The study highlights the paucity of research on nPEP use in Nigeria and the need to effectively utilize this prevention strategy to reduce new infections. For nPEP to have a population-level impact on HIV prevention, HIV and nPEP education and promotion must be intensified and targeted especially towards young adolescent females who are most vulnerable to sexual assault. Our study also appraised the societal and cultural contexts in which nonoccupational exposures occur, and the policy and practice implications.