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. 2017 May;21(5):1256-1267.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-016-1625-1.

PrEP Awareness, Familiarity, Comfort, and Prescribing Experience among US Primary Care Providers and HIV Specialists

Andrew E Petroll  1 , Jennifer L Walsh  2 , Jill L Owczarzak  3 , Timothy L McAuliffe  2 , Laura M Bogart  4 , Jeffrey A Kelly  2
Affiliations

PrEP Awareness, Familiarity, Comfort, and Prescribing Experience among US Primary Care Providers and HIV Specialists

Andrew E Petroll et al. AIDS Behav. 2017 May.

Abstract

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was FDA approved in 2012, but uptake remains low. To characterize what would facilitate health care providers' increased PrEP prescribing, we conducted a 10-city, online survey of 525 primary care providers (PCPs) and HIV providers (HIVPs) to assess awareness, knowledge, and experience with prescribing PrEP; and, comfort with and barriers to PrEP-related activities. Fewer PCPs than HIVPs had heard of PrEP (76 vs 98%), felt familiar with prescribing PrEP (28 vs. 76%), or had prescribed it (17 vs. 64%). PCPs were less comfortable than HIVPs with PrEP-related activities such as discussing sexual activities (75 vs. 94%), testing for acute HIV (83 vs. 98%), or delivering a new HIV diagnosis (80 vs. 95%). PCPs most frequently identified limited knowledge about PrEP and concerns about insurance coverage as prescribing barriers. PCPs and HIVPs differ in needs that will facilitate their PrEP prescribing. Efforts to increase PrEP uptake will require interventions to increase the knowledge, comfort, and skills of providers to prescribe PrEP.

Keywords: Barriers; HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis; HIV prevention; Health care providers.

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Conflict of interest statement

COMPLIANCE WITH ETHICAL STANDARDS

A.P. receives research support from Gilead Sciences, Inc. J.W., J.O., T.M., L.B., and J.K. report no conflict of interest.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

This study was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board of the Medical College of Wisconsin. It met the Board’s definition of “minimal risk” and a waiver of informed consent was granted.

Figures

Figure I
Figure I
PrEP provider experience cascade, by provider type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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