228767 Preparing for PrEP: Understanding Perceptions High-risk Black and Hispanic Populations Have about HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

Monday, November 8, 2010

Patrick A. Wilson, PhD , Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
Silvia Amesty, MD, MPH, MSEd , Center for Family and Community Medicine, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY
Jose Nanin, EdD, CHES , Community Health Program, Kingsborough Community College, City Univeristy of New York, Brooklyn, NY
Scyatta A. Wallace, PhD , Department of Psychology, St. John's University, Jamaica, NY
Issues: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a novel biomedical HIV prevention strategy currently under study involving the use of antiretroviral drugs by HIV-negative persons to reduce risk for acquiring HIV. It is critically important to understand perceptions about PrEP among at risk Black and Latino (B/L) populations, such as injection drug users, men who have sex with men, and formerly incarcerated men, as PrEP will likely be targeted toward these populations, if proven effective. Description: PrEP has the potential to be a powerful HIV prevention strategy in addition to other proven strategies. Based on experiences in working with high-risk B/L populations, investigators funded through the CDC Minority HIV/AIDS Research Initiative have sought to develop a strategy to understand perceptions high-risk B/L populations have about PrEP. Lessons Learned: Prior to implementing PrEP in high-risk B/L communities, it is imperative to describe the factors that influence uptake of PrEP. Specifically, to understand if PrEP will be a feasible intervention strategy, research must be conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding PrEP, and trust of PrEP as an intervention strategy. Likewise, the trust these populations have of health systems that will deliver PrEP must be examined. This information will enable researchers and practitioners to develop strategies to disseminate information about PrEP in high-risk B/L communities. Recommendations: The effectiveness of PrEP will depend on conducting research with the communities at which this intervention strategy will be targeted. Moreover, PrEP must be coupled with culturally appropriate behavioral, social, and structural interventions.

Learning Areas:
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Diversity and culture
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the importance of conducting research to understand perceptions of PrEP prior to targeting it to high-risk black and Hispanic populations. Identify ways in which information obtained from conducting this research can inform the dissemination information that may enhance the uptake of PrEP.

Keywords: HIV Interventions, Ethnic Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract author on the content I am responsible for because I have been engaged in HIV/AIDS research with black and Hispanic populations and am knowledgeable on biomedical, behavioral, and structural interventions targeted at high-risk black and Hispanic populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.