November 12, 2015
Mark S. King
When Falina Laron, a transgender woman living in Baltimore, first heard her physician suggest that she might consider pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the daily pill to prevent HIV infection, Laron felt offended.
“What kind of person do you think I am?” Laron thought at the time. When she told this story to a crowded room at a recent PrEP Town Hall event, several heads nodded.
Laron had internalized much of the social stigma associated with using PrEP. Namely, that using PrEP means you’re promiscuous. Laron now works as an outreach worker with AIDS Action Baltimore to help dissuade other transgender women from having the response she once did. PrEP users are often perceived negatively for taking the daily pill, rather than being seen as taking charge of their health and well-being. This has become a significant factor, according to research presented at the forum by Lynda Dee, executive director of AIDS Action Baltimore, which co-hosted the event with Chase Brexton Health Services. Despite stigma and other misgivings about PrEP among populations that might benefit from it most, Dee and other local PrEP advocates believe that further education, like the successful town hall event, are key.
“We’re thrilled our outreach about the event paid off and more people learned about PrEP,” said Dee. “It is so important for people to know that PrEP is a viable option.”
The efficacy of PrEP is now indisputable, with each new research study more promising than the last. When taken regularly, PrEP (in the form of the pill Truvada, although other forms of PrEP are on the way) has been shown to be at least 86% effective. The most positive study yet, published in September by the Kaiser Foundation, showed 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infection among 600 “high risk” individuals over more than a two year period. Since taking the pill regularly is a vital component, many researchers believe that those taking PrEP have become more adherent because they now know the drug works.
But education about the drug isn’t limited to patients themselves. Stuart Goldstone, another forum panelist, is a gay man who sought out care at Chase Brexton because his former doctor knew “very little about PrEP,” he told the crowd. For him, being on PrEP has meant “not being afraid of people with HIV anymore. It has actually lessened that stigma for me.”
Access to the drug was also on the minds of forum participants. While the drug is covered under insurance plans, those who are under-insured may face barriers. Both AIDS Action Baltimore and Chase Brexton have programs and services designed to help make PrEP available to anyone who needs it.
More public events are expected. “Our goal is to continue these forums to deliver the message that PrEP is extremely effective,” said Jill Crank, manager of medical services at Chase Brexton. “PrEP is here to stay.”
Read the full story here.
