THURSDAY, Sept. 14, 2023 (HealthDay News) — A beauty salon-based intervention improves awareness of and trust in preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV among Black cisgender women, according to a study published in the September/October issue of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

Schenita D. Randolph, Ph.D., R.N., from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues evaluated results of an intervention to improve PrEP knowledge and awareness, PrEP stigma, PrEP trust, and uptake among 44 Black cisgender women. A community-engagement approach was used to develop and pilot a salon-based intervention called Using PrEP and Doing it for Ourselves (UPDO) Protective Styles. The intervention had three components: (a) stylist training; (b) women-focused edutainment videos and modules; and (c) client engagement with the PrEP Navigator.

The researchers found that the salon intervention improved knowledge, awareness, and trust around PrEP among Black cisgender women. Before the intervention, 86 percent of women said they were not currently considering starting PrEP; that value declined to 64 percent after the intervention. Furthermore, there was a decrease in PrEP use stigma within interpersonal relationships. However, a low perceived risk for HIV and social stigma remained constant.

“HIV prevention efforts among Black cisgender women are critical in ending the HIV epidemic by 2030,” the authors write. “Given Black women’s role in their relationships and communities, UPDO Protective Styles can have a community-wide effect beyond that of individual or interpersonal intervention, including shifting social norms around HIV prevention.”

The project was funded by Gilead Sciences.

Abstract/Full Text

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