PrEP Prescriptions at 2 Federally Qualified Health Centers

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• HIV Prevention

Background:

• Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is crucial for HIV prevention but faces unequal uptake.
• This study investigates disparities in PrEP utilization across demographic groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and PrEP prescriptions among different sex, race, and ethnic groups.
• To identify and quantify PrEP prescription disparities in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of electronic medical records from 1/1/2023 to 12/31/2023.
• Identification of STI diagnoses (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis) and PrEP initiation prescriptions.
• Calculation of PrEP initiation rates, rate differences compared to white men, and PrEP initiation to STI diagnosis ratios for various demographic groups.

Main Results:

• Out of 63,591 patients, 1.9% had an STI and 0.1% initiated PrEP.
• Hispanic men, Black women, white women, and Hispanic women showed PrEP disparities compared to white men.
• The ratio of PrEP initiations to STI diagnoses was highest for white men (0.42) and substantially lower for all other groups, especially women.

Conclusions:

• White men exhibited the highest rate of initial PrEP prescriptions.
• Men received PrEP 3 to 21 times more frequently per STI diagnosis than women, highlighting significant gender-based disparities in HIV prevention access.