Friday, Dec. 1, is World AIDS Day, a global day of remembrance. UNAIDS founded World AIDS Day in 1988 as the first international day for global health.
Each year, UNAIDS brings agencies, governments, and organizations together around a campaign theme. The 2023 theme is “Let Communities Lead.” The theme emphasizes “person-centered public health services” and calls for foregrounding the voices and experiences of people who are most directly affected.
At RHHD, STI Health Educator and Early Intervention Specialist Bellamy Riley says World AIDS Day is an opportunity to think about who is still underrepresented in conversations about HIV and life-saving medications like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a daily medication that reduces someone’s chances of getting HIV.
“The biggest general misconception that I have heard is that HIV is a disease [that affects] gay men and that PrEP is specifically for gay men,” they say. “Some PrEP advertising has really tried to advertise PrEP as not scary, but fun and approachable, and what you can do to take charge of your health, which is cool. But that means that a lot of the advertising images have young, white, affluent gay men in a nightclub. It makes other people who could be eligible from PrEP say, ‘well, I don’t fall into that demographic.’”
Bellamy says that cis Black women are part of a group “disproportionately burdened by HIV, but there is generally low perceived risk of HIV and really low PrEP uptake.” Their observations are in keeping with research that shows that cis women—particularly Black women—and transgender men are accessing PrEP benefits less easily.
On World AIDS Day, Bellamy encourages the following steps for people looking to prevent HIV transmission through PrEP:
- Ask about PrEP at your next regular doctor’s appointment. “Public health settings like Planned Parenthood and Health Brigade are all going to know about PrEP,” Bellamy says. “And if you’re going to a primary care physician or gynecologist, most of them should know.” You can start with a very basic “tell me about PrEP” or “I want to learn more about PrEP.”
- Prepare for the appointment ahead of time if you feel nervous. Bellamy encourages folks to write down the questions they have or pull up the CDC page on PrEP ahead of time. “You can come in with a print out or your phone and say, ‘here are the questions I thought about in a lower pressure setting and now I’m just gonna read them off to you.’” And if your provider has a secure electronic system, you can message ahead of your appointment to let them know you plan to ask about PrEP.
- Providers: Learn the local PrEP landscape. “Research generally shows that women especially really, really, really want PrEP included in their primary care so that they don’t have to go to a different provider,” Bellamy says. “But we have a national health care provider shortage, so brush up on who in Richmond is offering PrEP right now. VDH’s list of active PrEP providers is updated regularly.”
- Communities: Think broadly about HIV prevention. PrEP is a critical tool for making sure that people who are at risk for HIV never contract the disease, and Bellamy says that there’s more to learn about how the social determinants of health—like housing and transportation—impact HIV risk. “HIV preventative care is also stable housing and substance use treatment,” they say.
You can reach out to RHHD at 804-205-3501 for more information about STI and HIV testing opportunities, PrEP referrals, and treatment information. And Bellamy hopes people will make the call even if it’s frightening or intimidating: “I don’t want to downplay the emotional impact and social impact of being diagnosed with HIV, because it’s really tough. As long as you’re in treatment, people with HIV can live full, healthy lives. And what is scary and potentially stigmatizing for you is my day-to-day job and our team’s day-to-day jobs. We are gonna be the chill ones; you just have to show up!”
