HIV/AIDS Awareness Edition

Health Professional Digest Volume 2, Issue 3

The HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH) knows how important it is for you to have the latest information on prevention and treatment to help you best serve your patients. Each month, we will share a curated list of tools and resources that you can immediately put into practice. HIV/AIDS Awareness — News You Can Use Advances in prevention, testing, and disease management, especially antiretroviral therapy and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), have resulted in tremendous progress in helping people with HIV and AIDS stay healthy. As a result, the annual number of HIV diagnoses has declined — between 2010 and 2016, there was a 21% decrease in HIV diagnoses among women. Despite these advances, a recent study revealed that, of those surveyed, 93% of primary care physicians are aware of PrEP, but only 35% report adopting the use of PrEP. Every year, OWH observes National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The goal of the observance is to shed light on the impact of HIV on women and girls and start a conversation about the role everyone — including health professionals — plays in HIV prevention. Use the tools and resources below to learn more about PrEP and how you can help women and girls. Resource for Family Planning Clinics to Increase Access to PrEP Services To address the disparities in PrEP prescribing and uptake among women, the U.S. Office of Population Affairs developed the Decision-Making Guide for the Provision of PrEP Services in Title X-Funded Family Planning Service Sites – PDF to help family planning service sites make evidence-informed decisions about their role in assuring access to PrEP for HIV prevention services in their communities. While developed to inform PrEP decision-making in Title X-funded organizations, this resource may also be applicable for other settings where family planning services are offered. HIV Prevention Resources for Clinicians and Materials for Patients Prescribe HIV Prevention is part of the Act Against AIDS initiative, launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the White House to combat complacency about HIV and AIDS in the United States. Prescribe HIV Prevention helps health care providers increase the use of PrEP and to prevent new HIV infections by providing access to training opportunities, resources for clinicians, and materials for patients. Free Continuing Education Opportunity The CDC, in collaboration with Medscape, produced Advancing PrEP in Practice: Practical Strategies for Everyday Challenges, a free CME opportunity to help health professionals integrate PrEP strategies into their primary care settings. Participants will learn how to identify and monitor patients who are candidates for PrEP. Additionally, participants will gain knowledge about the use of PrEP in women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant. Share With Your Patients: Encourage your patients to review the following resources on PrEP: OWH’s Top Questions About HIV Prevention and Women fact sheet OWH’s information on PREP and PEP CDC’s PrEP 101 – PDF CDC’s PrEP Basics HIV.gov’s PrEP webpage CDC’s PrEP video AIDSinfo’s HIV helpline: 1-800-HIV-0440 (448-0440) For more updates on women’s health, follow OWH on Twitter.