Perceived HIV Invulnerability and PrEP Knowledge and Attitudes among Black Sexual Minority Women

Abstract

Black women have disproportionate rates of HIV compared to women of all other racial groups. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate perceived HIV risk, HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing behaviors, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) knowledge and attitudes among Black sexual minority women (SMW) and examine differences based on their history of male sex partners. Secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Generations Study. This analysis used a sample of N = 149 participants who identified as Black cisgender women. Results showed Black SMW with a history of male sex partners reported a higher perceived risk of contracting HIV and significantly more frequent HIV and STI testing than those without a history of male sex partners. Overall, most of the sample was not familiar with PrEP, but one-third had favorable attitudes toward it, and half felt like they did not know enough about PrEP to form an opinion. Implications for culturally relevant public health campaigns and comprehensive sexuality education that integrate PrEP are included.

Keywords:

• HIV prevention
• pre-exposure prophylaxis
• women who have sex with women
• Black women
• HIV testing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The Generations study was funded by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (No. 1R01HD078526) and through supplemental grants from the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and Office of Research on Women’s Health. The Generations investigators are Ilan H. Meyer, PhD (PI); David M. Frost, PhD; Phillip L. Hammack, PhD; Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD; Stephen T. Russell, PhD; and Bianca D. M. Wilson, PhD (all co-investigators and listed alphabetically).