Although some progress has been made in recent years, HIV infection rate In the United States, it disproportionately affects Black people, especially cisgender Black women. But a new research project from Emory University Commonly known as “Eboni” We try to correct that imbalance.
by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) dataCisgender black women are significantly less likely to take or be prescribed a drug known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which is effective in preventing new HIV infections.
In testing efforts to increase PrEP uptake among cisgender Black women, Eboni is working to increase PrEP uptake rates through educational campaigns targeted at Black women and, most importantly, the health care providers who serve Black women. , aims to address the lack of HIV prevention.
Cisgender Black women are significantly less likely to take or be prescribed medications known as pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Black-led and Black-serving nonprofits may also be leading efforts to: sister’s loveis an Atlanta-based organization focused on women’s sexual health, and its “Healthy Love” curriculum includes education about PrEP.Curriculum recently featured on NPR morning paper and sometimesis working to develop health “influencers” to hold outreach sessions among target communities.
This initiative aims to counter the various factors that lead to lower PrEP uptake among cisgender Black women. NPR reporting by Kaiser Family Foundation health news reporter Sam Whitehead write:
Physicians, public health researchers, and those providing HIV treatment and prevention services believe that long-standing systemic factors such as stigma and racism pose significant barriers to PrEP uptake for cisgender black women. Says.transgender black woman face obstacles PrEP uptake, particularly discrimination related to gender identity, also has an impact.
However, many researchers have focused on cisgender black women, who are often ignored by the health care system and face obstacles such as: , and medical professionals are cautious about prescribing it. These challenges are becoming more pronounced across the South. highest rate Number of people newly diagnosed with HIV in the country.
Black-led nonprofits and Black-serving nonprofits are leading the effort.In other words, the low rate of PrEP use among Black women at least reflects the medical community’s failure to address the disproportionate rates of HIV infection among Black women, despite the ready availability of highly effective preventive drugs. It represents it to some extent.
“If we don’t find a way to change the system, we’re just going to continue to fail Black women,” Tiara Willey, an assistant professor of mental health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Whitehead. .
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As Willie says, there is plenty of evidence that the system is broken when it comes to cisgender black women.
Addressing the root cause
If we don’t figure out how to change this system, it will only continue to fail Black women.a Looking back on 2022 Research on whether cisgender black women have access to pre-exposure prophylaxis women’s health, It noted that despite the high prevalence of HIV infection in the population and the remarkable effectiveness of drugs in preventing infection, less than 2 percent of women in that population take the drugs.
The review found “multiple missed opportunities to increase women’s demand for pre-exposure prophylaxis and for health care provider screening and referral for pre-exposure prophylaxis.”
another 2022 surveyPublished in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Healthinvestigated the reasons for low PrEP uptake among cisgender Black women and found that “Black women had lower levels of PrEP acceptability and more misconceptions, inaccurate knowledge, and stigma about PrEP.” They found that “the health care providers in our sample had prejudice against PrEP.” We identified stigma, misconceptions, and knowledge barriers among patients, coupled with difficulties in accessing PrEP due to structural barriers. ”
As this study suggests, it is an open question to what extent misconceptions and stigma about PrEP originate at the patient or provider level, and the Eboni Project We are trying to address this issue through. And that’s not all in this work.
Another campaign and toolkit by Black AIDS Research Institute (BAI), dubbed Black women and PreEPwhich also aims to increase access and uptake of PrEP among the same population.
Quote 2008 data Suggesting that of the 500,000 black women who could benefit from PrEP, only about 7,000 have been prescribed, the BAI notes: and is an effective HIV prevention tool. ”
As with all complex health justice issues, disparities in PrEP uptake by cisgender Black women are nuanced and fundamentally intersecting. In an NPR report, Whitehead quoted Moda Monger, an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, who said economic, social, and family dynamics can shape women’s attitudes toward PrEP. It is pointed out that there is. Her partner is the one who provides housing, food, and resources for her children, and she could actually be putting her livelihood at risk if she openly says, “I’m on PrEP.” . ”
In other words, to fully address the root causes of low PrEP uptake among cisgender Black women, perhaps the broader social factors that shape Black women’s access to the potentially lifesaving drug You will need to dig beneath the surface of the problem to better understand and address it.
