About the Event

The Engaging DoxyPEP impact team hosted a stakeholder event on Wednesday 22 Oct 2025 at Edinburgh Futures Institute. Participants explored key issues related to accessing DoxyPEP in Scotland and considered how to navigate issues of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.

Core Discussion

In small groups across the in-person and online spaces, participants considered if/whether DoxyPEP is a priority for sexual harm reduction in Scotland, or if it’s a distraction from existing health promotion and disease prevention strategies, including testing and treatment. As one participant said:

I just think DoxyPEP diverts our attention away from the real issue, which is better testing, vaccine development, and better sex education.

Despite viewing DoxyPEP as a short-term solution and plaster on a larger problem, participants also reflected on already marginalised communities who may benefit from DoxyPEP use, due to existing barriers to testing and treatment. For instance:

I think DoxyPEP could be an excellent tool, especially for sex workers and people who have less regular access to testing, treatment or don’t go to sexual health checkups for any reason, to reduce risk of infection and transmission of some bacterial STIs.

Importantly, participants reflected on how to speak with communities who might need DoxyPEP, including sensitivity to how AMR and antibiotic stewardship are framed.

I do not think that the conversation about stewardship should be individualised or the morality for AMR placed on the individual. Rather, this should be part of a larger conversation about sexual health provision and priorities.

To that end, participants valued collaborative spaces where community members, clinicians, health promotion specialists, and community groups as a key way to engage DoxyPEP going forward. Participants agreed that DoxyPEP was not right for everyone, and as such, its use should be guided by strengthening relationships between individuals, communities, and healthcare professionals.

Future Work

The overall purpose of the event was to gather ideas about potential social interventions that could be implemented or sustained through emergent conversations about DoxyPEP and AMR in Scotland.

Participants clearly identified the need for more targeted community engagement and outreach, especially with marginalised groups like sex workers and in sex-positive spaces. This includes work not simply in the central belt of Scotland, but also in more rural areas, such as the Highlands and Islands, where access to testing and treatment is more limited. More health promotion and education about the basics of DoxyPEP and AMR were also viewed as a priority, to enable clinicians, health promotion specialists, and patients to have realistic conversations about safer sex practices — both within and outwith the clinical setting — and to improve informed consent during sexual encounters.

Finally, participants agreed that more research about the clinical effectiveness of DoxyPEP for different communities beyond the existing clinical guidelines, to include women and transgender individuals, would help to improve clinical decisions about making DoxyPEP more available. Similarly, more critical conversations with clinicians and healthcare practitioners are needed to ensure that DoxyPEP implementation accounts for the reality of service delivery in clinics across Scotland.

The Organisers

This event was organised and delivered by Dr Chase Ledin (University of Edinburgh), Dr Benjamin Weil (The Love Tank), Luke Gallagher (Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland), Gillian Meikle (Waverley Care), Harris Totten (Waverley Care), and Wren Wilson (University of Edinburgh).

The graphic recording was created by Eddy Phillips (Eddy Draws CIC).

Funding was provided by the UKRI ESRC Impact Accelerator Account (2025-26).