While PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV infection and has been available for more than 10 years, many people who might benefit from taking it have not received a prescription. Through focus groups with health centers across the United States, The Fenway Institute and the Bureau of Primary Health Care identified barriers and facilitators to PrEP use. A lack of provider knowledge about PrEP, discomfort discussing sexual behavior, patients’ negative perceptions of PrEP, financial and staffing limitations, medical mistrust, and low health literacy all impeded PrEP access. However, focus group participants also identified multiple strategies to ease PrEP use, including provider training and resources, visit templates that include sexual history questions, patient outreach and education through trusted community members, and use of telemedicine.
