To Make Headway in the Fight Against HIV, We Have to Treat It Like Every Other Health Condition
SDI Productions via iStock
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a drug that protects people from HIV. Though this has been known by scientists and health care professionals for over eight years, many Black women are unaware of the drug or about their own vulnerabilities to the virus.
According to the most recent figures on HIV infections in this country, Black women account for 57% of all seroconversions among women, even though they only represent 13% of the total population of women in the United States. And of those HIV transmissions, 92% occurred through heterosexual sex.
Older Black Women Aren’t Being Told About PrEP to Prevent HIV
FG Trade via iStock
Patients should feel safe to discuss any aspect of their sexual health with their care providers. Whether it is an unexpected discharge, a hard-to-explain injury, or a request for sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, medical professionals should be available to offer their patients the information and services they need. Unfortunately, that is not how it goes for many Black women in this country when it comes to HIV, particularly when they are older.
Case in point: Though they only make up 13% of all women in the U.S., Black women accounted for 57% of all women who tested positive for HIV in 2018. In addition to this disproportionate representation, what makes this statistic so alarming is that most Black women are unaware that they are at risk for seroconversion or that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is available to protect them from HIV.