Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Awareness of Preexposure Prophylaxis Among HIV-Negative Heterosexually Active Adults at Increased Risk for HIV Infection — 23 Urban Areas, United States, 2019
Amy R. Baugher, Lindsay Trujillo, Dafna Kanny, Jincong Q. Freeman, Terence Hickey, Catlainn Sionéan, Ebony Respress, Johanna Chapin Bardales, Ruthanne Marcus, Teresa Finlayson, Cyprian Wejnert, National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Study Group, National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Study Group, Yingbo Ma, Hugo Santacruz, Ekow Kwa Sey, Adam Bente, Anna M. Flynn, Sheryl Williams, Willi McFarland, Desmond Miller, Danielle Veloso, Alia Al‐Tayyib, Daniel Shodell, Irene Kuo, Jenevieve Opoku, Monica Faraldo, David Forrest, Emma C. Spencer, David W. Melton, Jeff Todd, Pascale Wortley, Antonio D. Jimenez, David G. Kern, Irina Tabidze, Narquis Barak, Jacob Chavez, William T. Robinson, Colin Flynn, Danielle German, Monina Klevins, Conall O’Cleirigh, Shauna Onofrey, Vivian Griffin, Emily Higgins, Corrine Sanger, Abdel R. Ibrahim, Corey Rosmarin-DeStafano, Afework Wogayehu, Meaghan Abrego, Bridget J. Anderson, Ashley Tate, Sarah Braunstein, Sidney Carrillo, Alexis Rivera, Lauren Lipira, Timothy W. Menza, E. Roberto Orellana, Tanner Nassau, Jennifer Shinefeld, Kathleen A. Brady, Sandra Miranda De León, María Pabón Martínez, Yadira Rolón-Colón, Meredith Brantley, Monica Kent, Jack Marr, Jie Deng, Margaret Vaaler, Salma Khuwaja, Zaida Lopez, Paige Padgett, Jennifer Kienzle, Toyah Reid, Brandie Smith, Sara N. Glick, Tom Jaenicke, Jennifer Reuer
Abstract
In 2019, heterosexual sex accounted for 23% of new HIV diagnoses in the United States and six dependent areas (1). Although preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can safely reduce the risk for HIV infection among heterosexual persons, this group is underrepresented in PrEP research (2). CDC analyzed National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) data to describe PrEP awareness among heterosexually active adults in cities with high HIV prevalence. Overall, although 32.3% of heterosexually active adults who were eligible were aware of PrEP, <1% used PrEP. Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities were identified, with the lowest awareness of PrEP among residents of Puerto Rico (5.8%) and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) men (19.5%) and women (17.6%). Previous studies have found that heterosexual adults are interested in taking PrEP when they are aware of it (3); tailoring PrEP messaging, including Spanish-language messaging, to heterosexual adults, might increase PrEP awareness and mitigate disparities in use.