14 Sep Significant Number of Men Are Sharing Teir Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Medication With Others

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Gordon Mansergh, PhD
Senior Behavioral Scientist
CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention

MedicalResearch.com: What would you say is the take home message from the study?

Response: A small but notable subgroup of gay and bisexual men are sharing their PrEP medication with others. As PrEP continues to be more commonly used, it is important to better understand and address the context of PrEP sharing, and to emphasize messaging about provider monitoring of medication use over time for health and safety reasons.

Tablets of Truvada, a tenofovir/emtricitabine combination used for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis

MedicalResearch.com: Could you talk briefly about why men might be sharing their PReP with others?

Response: Future research should focus on better understanding the context of sharing PrEP medication, including sharing due to potential access barriers, convenience, cost savings, and unawareness of possible consequences. 

MedicalResearch.com: Does this mean that there need to be more PReP prescriptions?

Response: Gay and bisexual men should talk to providers about PrEP and determine their eligibility according to CDC clinical guidelines. Once on PrEP medication, adherence and ongoing monitoring by a provider are important to ensure health and safety reasons.

MedicalResearch.com: What can/should be done?

Response: First, more research is needed to understand the contexts of PrEP sharing, to more directly address the issue. Second, HIV prevention messaging is needed to underscore the importance of provider monitoring of PrEP and any prescription medication.

Background Information:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America initiative to end the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. This initiative will leverage critical scientific advances in HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outbreak response by coordinating the highly successful programs, resources, and infrastructure of many HHS agencies and offices.

A nationwide program led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),  Ready, Set, PrEP, provides pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications at no cost to thousands of individuals who qualify. The program will expand access to PrEP medications, reduce new HIV infections, and bring us one step closer to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.

Citation:

Mansergh G, Mayer K, Hirshfield S, Stephenson R, Sullivan P. HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Medication Sharing Among HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex With Men. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(9):e2016256. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.16256

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Last Updated on September 14, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD