Erschienen in:
10.01.2020 | Original Paper
Pharmacy PEP Access Intervention Among Persons Who Use Drugs in New York City: iPEPcare Study—Rethinking Biomedical HIV Prevention Strategies
verfasst von:
Crystal Fuller Lewis, Helen-Maria Lekas, Alexis Rivera, Sharifa Z. Williams, Natalie D. Crawford, Rafael E. Pérez-Figueroa, Adriana M. Joseph, Silvia Amesty
Erschienen in:
AIDS and Behavior
|
Ausgabe 7/2020
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Abstract
Biomedical HIV prevention uptake has not taken hold among Black and Latinx populations who use street-marketed drugs. A pilot intervention providing a PEP informational video and direct pharmacy access to a PEP starter dose was conducted among this population. Four study pharmacies were selected to help facilitate syringe customer recruitment (2012–2016). Baseline, post-video, and 3-month ACASI captured demographic, risk behavior, and psychosocial factors associated with PEP willingness, and willingness to access PEP in a pharmacy. A non-experimental study design revealed baseline PEP willingness to be associated with PEP awareness, health insurance, being female, and having a high-risk partner (n = 454). Three-month PEP willingness was associated with lower HIV stigma (APR = 0.95). Using a pre-post approach, PEP knowledge (p < 0.001) and willingness (p < 0.001) increased overtime; however, only three participants requested PEP during the study. In-depth interviews (n = 15) identified lack of a deeper understanding of PEP, and contextualized perceptions of HIV risk as PEP access barriers. Pharmacy PEP access shows promise but further research on perceived risk and HIV stigma is warranted.