PrEP awareness and use among reproductive age women in Miami, Florida

Nicholas Fonseca Nogueira, Nicole Luisi, Ana S. Salazar, Emily M. Cherenack, Patricia Raccamarich, Nichole R. Klatt, Deborah L. Jones, Maria L. Alcaide

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background Miami, Florida is an epicenter of the HIV epidemic in the US, with 20% of new HIV infections occurring in women. Despite effectiveness of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in preventing HIV, only 10% of eligible women benefit from its use. Setting This study evaluates PrEP awareness and use, and factors associated with PrEP awareness among sexually active women in Miami, Florida. Methods Results reported in this study included cross-sectional data that were collected as part of a baseline visit from a parent study. Cis-gender, HIV-negative, 18-45-year-old, sexually active women were recruited as part of a study evaluating recurrent bacterial vaginosis and HIV risk. Participants completed questionnaires assessing socio-demographics, HIV risk factors, prior history of HIV testing and reproductive tract infections, PrEP awareness and use. Relationships between variables and PrEP awareness were analyzed and multivariable logistic regression identified variables strongly associated with PrEP awareness. Results Among the 295 women enrolled, median age was 31 (24–38) years, 49% Black, 39% White, and 34% Hispanic. Of 63% who knew about PrEP, only 5% were on PrEP. Women with income below poverty line (OR = 2.00[1.04,3.87];p = 0.04), more male sexual partners in past month (OR = 1.30[1.01,1.68];p = 0.04), lifetime HIV testing (OR = 6.42[2.83,14.52]; p<0.01), and current bacterial vaginosis (OR = 2.28[1.18,4.40];p = 0.01) were more likely to be aware of PrEP. Lower odds of PrEP awareness were associated with being Black (OR = 0.38[0.15,0.96];p = 0.04), Hispanic (OR = 0.18[0.08,0.39];p<0.01), heterosexual (OR = 0.29 [0.11,0.77];p<0.01), and reporting inconsistent condom use during vaginal sex (OR = 0.21 [0.08,0.56];p<0.01). Conclusion PrEP awareness is low among reproductive age women in a high-risk setting. Culturally tailored interventions are needed to increase PrEP awareness and uptake, especially among Black and Hispanic women with inconsistent condom use during vaginal sex with male partners.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere0286071
JournalPloS one
Volume18
Issue number6 June
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Nogueira et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

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