HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for women: Claiming risk and recognizing responsibility to end the AIDS epidemic in New York
Introduction: When the drug Truvada was approved for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV in 2012, it was lauded as the first major advance in HIV prevention in decades and a major step toward reaching the goal of ending the epidemic. However, concerns around equitable access to PrE...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Edizioni FS
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Health and Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journalhss.com/wp-content/uploads/jhss_501-512.pdf |
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| Summary: | Introduction: When the drug Truvada was approved for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV in 2012, it was lauded as the first major advance in HIV prevention in decades and a major step toward reaching the goal of ending the epidemic. However, concerns around equitable access to PrEP arose quickly. This paper analyzes the ways in which one large-scale public health campaign framed its messaging around PrEP differently for women than for men, and suggests a more inclusive re-thinking of how ‘risk’ for HIV is conceived.
Methods: This analysis is based on 14 months (October 2014 – December 2015) of ethnographic research conducted in the context of New York State’s ‘Ending the Epidemic’ (ETE) campaign. Participant obser- vation was conducted at public meetings and events related to ETE and 37 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with direct participants in the campaign, as well as with members of affected communities. Analysis also included review of documents related to ETE, such as reports, newspaper arti- cles, and blog posts.
Results: Some prominent women involved in ETE felt that the campaign was largely run by men in its early days. While campaign messaging around PrEP accepted men’s ‘risky’ sexual behavior, women’s expe- riences with PrEP often were framed in the context of responsibility and ‘risky’ behavior was a barrier rather than a gateway to access.
Conclusion: To avoid missing crucial opportunities for HIV prevention in the future and make PrEP mes- saging more inclusive, similar campaigns must think more broadly about what constitutes ‘risk’ for HIV and implement these definitions from the beginning. |
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| ISSN: | 2499-5886 2499-2240 |