PrEP is an important daily medication for people without HIV. It is known as a proven method to prevent HIV, but only 10% of the 1 million people in the world take PrEP. This may be due to cultural factors and stigmas still associated with the disease.
A study performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and led by Ashley Leech, PhD, showed that only 54% of medical practitioners have prescribed PreP to HIV-vulnerable patients. Here, the researchers surveyed 519 healthcare practitioners across five cities who took a continuing medical education course on HIV. This seems challenging given the US goal to eradicate HIV by 2030 and routine PrEEP prescriptions is something that should be addressed.
Across different specialities, it seemed that internal medicine practitioners were more likely to prescribe the medication than infectious disease practitioners. Thus, the role for general medicine is important in stopping the spread of disease. Additionally, it seems troubling given that infectious disease specialties seem to be more trained of HIV disease than internal medicine practitioners. However, the article did note that many of the patients experienced confusion across providers regarding PrEP use, with patients “bounced back and forth between primary care and HIV clinics.” This is also troubling given that many of the clinicians in this cohort represented the leaders driving PrEP - people who are not involved with this initiative may have even less understanding of the matter.
The study suggests that better communication and tailored messages of the efficacy of PrEP should be given to clinicians, and that they should continue to evaluate preventative interventions that include groups at-risk/vulnerable to HIV.
Fan
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0238375
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