Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has proven to be highly effective in preventing HIV acquisition. Despite a steady rise in PrEP use, its adoption remains below the desired levels within diverse groups most vulnerable to HIV acquisition, across various settings and locations with eligible individuals not accessing it due to various country-, setting-, and individual-specific reasons and challenges.
Weaknesses in sexual health services have been identified among the challenges to optimal PrEP uptake, delivery and retention. These include knowledge of PrEP, lack of communication about, funding for, and access to and retention on PrEP, the intersection between PrEP-stigma, HIV-stigma, transphobia, homophobia, and disparities across gender, racial, and ethnic groups.
In addition, silo approaches to prevention and care services, as well as vertical disease management, add to the ineffective identification of individuals who would benefit from PrEP. The “purview paradox” remains a key barrier: HIV specialists often do not see HIV-negative patients, while primary care physicians, who often see unaffected patients, are not trained to provide PrEP.3
Improving PrEP delivery, uptake, and retention require tackling numerous challenges. Improving service providers’ s PrEP education through training that supports providers’ progression along the PrEP implementation cascade, moving from PrEP awareness to prescription would tackle one of these challenges and contribute to expanding PrEP access.
Consequently, International AIDS Society alongside Medicines Patent Pool are hosting this session to facilitate collaboration among current, previous and prospective PrEP users, service providers, and prevention experts to identify ways to enhance PrEP delivery and uptake by service providers, with a specific emphasis on enhancing PrEP education
Weaknesses in sexual health services have been identified among the challenges to optimal PrEP uptake, delivery and retention. These include knowledge of PrEP, lack of communication about, funding for, and access to and retention on PrEP, the intersection between PrEP-stigma, HIV-stigma, transphobia, homophobia, and disparities across gender, racial, and ethnic groups.
In addition, silo approaches to prevention and care services, as well as vertical disease management, add to the ineffective identification of individuals who would benefit from PrEP. The “purview paradox” remains a key barrier: HIV specialists often do not see HIV-negative patients, while primary care physicians, who often see unaffected patients, are not trained to provide PrEP.3
Improving PrEP delivery, uptake, and retention require tackling numerous challenges. Improving service providers’ s PrEP education through training that supports providers’ progression along the PrEP implementation cascade, moving from PrEP awareness to prescription would tackle one of these challenges and contribute to expanding PrEP access.
Consequently, International AIDS Society alongside Medicines Patent Pool are hosting this session to facilitate collaboration among current, previous and prospective PrEP users, service providers, and prevention experts to identify ways to enhance PrEP delivery and uptake by service providers, with a specific emphasis on enhancing PrEP education
