Community Health Care Providers' Perspectives on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use Among Black Women in Eastern Virginia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

DOI

10.1089/apc.2023.0199

Publication Title

AIDS Patient Care & STDs

Volume

38

Issue

3

Pages

123-133

Abstract

The most at-risk population among women for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis in the United States are Black women, accounting for 61% of all new HIV cases. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a safe and effective HIV prevention method for people at risk of HIV acquisition. Although disproportionately affected by HIV, Black women's knowledge, perceived benefits, and uptake of PrEP remain low. The socioecological model (SEM) may be useful for understanding why there is a low uptake of PrEP among Black women. The current study used the SEM to explore provider perspectives on the barriers and facilitators of PrEP uptake among Black women in Eastern Virginia. Semistructured interviews were conducted with a total sample of 15 community health care providers. Barriers of PrEP uptake at the societal (e.g., PrEP advertisements focus on gay men), community/organizational (e.g., time constraints in the workplace), interpersonal (e.g., perceived monogamy), and individual (e.g., unmet basic needs) levels were identified. Providers also identified facilitators of PrEP uptake at the societal (e.g., PrEP advertisements that target women), community/organizational (e.g., PrEP education), interpersonal (e.g., HIV-positive partner), and individual (e.g., PrEP awareness and perceived susceptibility to HIV) levels. These findings highlight unique barriers to accessing and taking PrEP for Black women in the United States, and potential factors that could facilitate PrEP use. Both barriers and facilitators may be important targets for interventions to improve PrEP uptake. Future research focused on improving PrEP uptake among Black women in the United States should consider multi-level interventions that target barriers and facilitators to reduce rates of HIV infections.

Rights

© 2024 Mary Ann Liebert. All rights reserved.

Original Publication Citation

Pitchford, K., Shangani, S., Dawson, C., Masa, R., & Heron, K. (2024). Community health care providers' perspectives on human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis use among Black women in eastern Virginia. AIDS Patient Care & STDs, 38(3), 123-133. https://doi.org/10.1089/apc.2023.0199

ORCID

0000-0002-7452-876X (Heron)

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS