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. 2022 Jan-Dec:21:23259582221127936.
doi: 10.1177/23259582221127936.

PrEP Prescription for Black Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Alabama: Findings from a Survey of Healthcare Providers

Madeline C Pratt  1 , Samantha V Hill  2 , Latesha Elopre  1 , Tina Simpson  2 , Robin Lanzi  3 , Lynn T Matthews  1
Affiliations

PrEP Prescription for Black Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Alabama: Findings from a Survey of Healthcare Providers

Madeline C Pratt et al. J Int Assoc Provid AIDS Care. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Black adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective for HIV prevention, but prescription rates remain low. We conducted a survey of medical providers caring for Black AGYW in Alabama to explore PrEP prescription practices. While over half of the N = 36 providers reported minimal HIV testing of AGYW in clinic, most (N = 29, 81%) reported feeling confident discussing HIV prevention. Most reported willingness to prescribe PrEP to Black AGYW (58%-72%), but only 11 (31%) had prescribed PrEP to any female client. Low familiarity with CDC guidelines (N = 20, 56%) and PrEP options (N = 19, 53%) were barriers to prescription. Prescribing PrEP to AGYW was associated with provider training, with internal medicine providers being least likely to prescribe. These findings support the need to develop training tools to directly address unique training needs of providers who care for this population.

Keywords: HIV prevention; PrEP; adolescents; healthcare providers; heterosexual women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Provider Willingness to Prescribe PrEP to Black AGYW, by Client Age.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Likert-Type Items Examining Barriers to Prescription of PrEP for AGYW.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Indications for Which Providers Have Prescribed PrEP to Black AGYW.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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