Examining the association between exposure to the #ShesWell campaign and Black women’s conversations with healthcare providers about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Abstract

Low uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention among Black women has been partly attributed to barriers related to patient-provider communication. The goal of this paper was to investigate the association between exposure to the #ShesWell campaign and Black women’s communication about PrEP with a healthcare provider (HCP). We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 403 sexually active, Black women after the initial phase of #ShesWell and used multivariable regression models to analyze whether exposure to #ShesWell was associated with talking to an HCP about PrEP or intention to discuss PrEP with an HCP in the future. Approximately 33% of women surveyed reported exposure to #ShesWell. Campaign exposure was significantly associated with talking to an HCP in the past year about PrEP (OR = 4.96, p = .001) and intention to discuss PrEP with an HCP in the next six months (B = 0.29, p = .038). Stronger beliefs that doctors should initiate sexual health conversations were positively associated with past PrEP conversations (OR = 2.32, p < .001) and future intention (B = 0.11, p = .029). Greater comfort discussing prevention (B = 0.35, p < .001), self-efficacy discussing PrEP (B = 0.29, p = .001), and concern about getting HIV (B = 0.51, p < .001) were also associated with intention to discuss PrEP with an HCP. Findings highlight the potential for communication campaigns to motivate patient-provider communication about PrEP, addressing a reported barrier to PrEP uptake among Black women.