"Let's Be a Person to Person and Have a Genuine Conversation": Comparing Perspectives on PrEP and Sexual Health Communication Between Black Sexual Minority Men and Healthcare Providers.

View Abstract

Patient-provider communication is a key factor affecting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness and access among Black sexual minority men (SMM). Optimizing patient-provider communication requires a deeper understanding of communication dynamics. In this study, we investigated the perspectives of both HIV-negative/status-unknown Black SMM and practicing community healthcare providers regarding patient-provider communication about PrEP and sexual health. We conducted eleven semi-structured qualitative focus groups (six with Black SMM; five with providers) in the Northeastern USA and thematically analyzed transcripts. A total of 36 Black SMM and 27 providers participated in the focus groups. Our analysis revealed points of alignment and divergence in the two groups' perspectives related to patient-provider communication. Points of alignment included: (1) the importance ascribed to maximizing patients' comfort and (2) belief in patients' right to non-discriminatory healthcare. Points of divergence included: (1) Black SMM's preference for sexual privacy versus providers' preference that patients share sexual information, (2) Black SMM's perception that providers have an ethical responsibility to initiate conversations about PrEP with patients versus providers' perception of such conversations as being optional, and (3) Black SMM's preference for personalized sexual health conversations versus providers' preference for standardized conversations. Findings underscore a need for providers to offer more patient-centered sexual healthcare to Black SMM, which should entail routinely presenting all prevention options available-including PrEP-and inviting open dialogue about sex, while also respecting patients' preferences for privacy about their sexuality. This approach could increase PrEP access and improve equity in the US healthcare system.

Investigators
Abbreviation
Arch Sex Behav
Publication Date
2022-07-05
Pubmed ID
35790614
Medium
Print-Electronic
Full Title
"Let's Be a Person to Person and Have a Genuine Conversation": Comparing Perspectives on PrEP and Sexual Health Communication Between Black Sexual Minority Men and Healthcare Providers.
Authors
Calabrese SK, Rao S, Eldahan AI, Tekeste M, Modrakovic D, Dangaran D, Boone CA, Underhill K, Krakower DS, Mayer KH, Hansen NB, Kershaw TS, Magnus M, Betancourt JR, Dovidio JF