…educating women about treatment options and life-saving drugs such as PrEP or pre-exposure prophylactic. “When I’m joking around with my patients I say it’s the other blue pill,” said Dr. Wilson. “It’s two medications in one pill and the only one that is effective for prevention.”
The CDC, too, has stepped up its outreach to African American women, said Franciso Ruiz, team leader for national partnerships in the division of HIV/AIDS prevention. Its Pact to Act Against AIDS Initiative focuses outreach to nontraditional groups in the African American, Latino and LBGTQ communities. With partners such as the National Urban League and Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the CDC has helped community-based groups look beyond handing out condoms to providing assistance such as temporary housing. Particularly, he said, the CDC has tried to better educate women about PrEP and PEP, a post-exposure prophylactic that can prevent infection if taken with 72 hours of exposure to HIV.
“Gay men are more aware of these medications. Organizations push this information for gay men due to the alarming infection rates. But PrEP is effective for men and women. So we want to make sure women are empowered to know,” Ruiz said.
Dr. Wilson also encouraged African American young men who are experimenting with bisexuality to take precautions. “I had a young man come in two weeks ago . . . one episode with a guy,” she said. “Being careless and carefree. That’s where they become positive.”