DC CFAR Investigators, Sarah Calabrese, PhD (first author) and Tamara Taggart, PhD, have recently published an article in JAIDS entitled, "Current US Guidelines for Prescribing HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Disqualify Many Women Who Are at Risk and Motivated to Use PrEP".
The article discusses a study that examined the current CDC clinical guidelines for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which are used to assess a patient's PrEP eligibility. In particular, the researchers looked at how two versions of PrEP eligibility criteria within the guidelines - guidance summary criteria and recommended indications criteria - could potentially effect the eligibility of heterosexually active women to receive PrEP, as both criteria require women's knowledge of their own risk behavior, but the recommended indications also require women's knowledge of their partners' HIV risk. The authors found that the current guidelines disqualify many women who could benefit from PrEP and recommend reforms to improve clarity.
Click here to read the full article.