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. 2023 May;27(5):1523-1530.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-022-03944-7. Epub 2022 Dec 27.

Exploring the Association Between Gender Affirmation and PrEP use Among Transgender Women in New York City

Alexis V Rivera  1 , Jasmine M Lopez  2 , Sarah L Braunstein  3
Affiliations

Exploring the Association Between Gender Affirmation and PrEP use Among Transgender Women in New York City

Alexis V Rivera et al. AIDS Behav. 2023 May.

Abstract

Black and Hispanic/Latina transgender women are inequitably impacted by HIV; yet gaps in PrEP use exist. Among a sample of mostly Black and Hispanic/Latina transgender women in New York City, we aim to examine whether PrEP use was associated with gender affirmation and the use of gender-affirming health services. We found that PrEP use was more prevalent among those who used hormone therapy and those who had a provider they were comfortable speaking to about gender-related issues. In separate models, these associations were attenuated when adjusting for race/ethnicity, with those who use hormones being marginally more likely to report PrEP use and with Hispanic/Latina transgender women being more likely to have used PrEP, compared to Black transgender women. We found evidence of a potential association between medical gender affirmation and PrEP use. More research is needed to explore the social and structural contexts that are influenced by race/ethnicity that may serve to prevent PrEP uptake.

Keywords: Gender affirmation; PrEP; Race/ethnicity; Transgender women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

References

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