Preventive Epidemiology of PrEP Use in African American Women With a Perceived HIV Risk

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of education and household income on African American women’s perception of HIV risk on PrEP use. Secondary data from the Be-PrEPared dataset on 202 African American women’s attitudes toward condom use, biomedical prevention strategies, and risks associated with HIV transmission. African American women with a greater level of education and a perceived risk of HIV were more likely to utilize PrEP than African American women with a lower level of education and no reported risk of HIV. Additionally, women with a higher household income and perceived HIV risk were more likely to use PrEP as well. These associations were still present when taking HIV knowledge into account. It is the job of health practitioners and public health/health education professionals to improve PrEP interventions to be more culturally competent which will make adults more cognizant of the health issues related to HIV infection.