Oct 27, 2016 - Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida; 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,. University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida; ...
507. Discomfort Discussing Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) Limits the Potential for Partnerto-Partner Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Education Heather Farthing, BS Biology1; Anamaria Rodriguez, MD2; Siddharth Kumar Iyengar, BS Biology and Global Public Health1; Misha Tori Armstrong, BS Biology1; Jonell E. Potter, ARNP, PhD3; Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, MD4; 1University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida; 2Department of Infection Diseases, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida; 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida; 4Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida Session: 64. HIV Prep and PEP Thursday, October 27, 2016: 12:30 PM Background. Despite its effectiveness, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV is underutilized. Deterrents include discomfort discussing HIV/AIDS or sex which may limit (1) HIV-status disclosure, (2) awareness of PrEP, and (3) the potential for partner-to-partner education. Methods. Participants were a convenience sample of patients with scheduled visits to outpatient HIV and perinatal-HIV clinics in a public hospital in Miami. A crosssectional survey assessed demographics, frequency of serostatus disclosure, PrEP awareness, and willingness to recommend PrEP to intimate partners. Comfort discussing HIV/AIDS and sex and the frequency with which the subject of HIV/AIDS arose in conversations were assessed using Likert scales. Results are presented descriptively with chi-squared and t-tests. Results. Surveys were completed by 71 participants. Of respondents, 83.1% were heterosexual, 80.3% were African American and 22.5% were Hispanic. Detectable or unknown viral load was reported by 29.6%. In the past year, 40.8% of participants reported having HIV-negative or unknown-status sexual partners. Of these, 17.2% reported that they “never” disclose HIV status to sexual partners. A significant correlation was found between frequency of status disclosure and general comfort discussing HIV/AIDS with intimate partners (p < 0.001; R2 = .413). Participants were also asked how often the subject of HIV/AIDS comes up in conversations. Of respondents, 64% indicated “never” or “rarely” does it come up with friends and 45% indicated “never” or “rarely” does it come up with family. Prior PrEP awareness was reported by 31% of participants. Participants with knowledge of PrEP before the survey reported that the subject of HIV/AIDS came up in conversations with friends significantly more often ( p = 0.034) and with family more often (p = 0.06) than those without prior knowledge. Mean comfort level discussing sex with intimate partners on a Likert scale of 1–5 was significantly higher than comfort level discussing HIV status with intimate partners (4.11 versus 3.35, p = 0.013 for difference). Conclusion. Frequency of and comfort with discussions about HIV/AIDS and sex with friends, family, and partners may impact PrEP awareness and should be considered when devising strategies to offer PrEP to discordant partners. Disclosures. All authors: No reported disclosures.
Poster Abstracts
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OFID 2016:1 (Suppl 1)
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S69
