Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Increasing Urban African American Women's Readiness for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: A Pilot Study of the Women Prepping for PrEp Plus Program (WP3+).

Wyatt GE, Norwood-Scott E, Cooley-Strickland M, Zhang M, Smith A, Jordan W, Liu H, Hamilton AB. Increasing Urban African American Women's Readiness for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: A Pilot Study of the Women Prepping for PrEp Plus Program (WP3+). Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. 2024 Jan 23.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

BACKGROUND: African American women are disproportionately at risk for HIV infection. To increase women''s readiness to consider taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), we conducted a pilot study of Women Prepping for PrEP Plus (WP3+). Adapted from an evidence-based HIV risk reduction intervention for African American couples who are HIV-serodiscordant, WP3+ is a group-based culturally congruent program designed for African American women without HIV. METHODS: Women were screened for eligibility; if eligible, they were invited to participate in the four-session WP3+ group. Participants completed surveys at baseline (n  =  47) and post-implementation (n  =  28); surveys assessed demographics, HIV and PrEP knowledge, depression and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, substance use, sexual risk behaviors, health care-related discrimination, and social support. In a process evaluation, a subset of women completed qualitative interviews at baseline (n  =  35) and post-implementation (n  =  18); the interviews were designed to converge with (e.g., on HIV and PrEP knowledge) and expand upon (e.g., unmeasured perceived impacts of WP3+) quantitative measures. To triangulate with the quantitative data, deductive qualitative analysis concentrated on women''s knowledge and awareness of PrEP and HIV, their relationship dynamics and challenges, and their considerations (e.g., barriers, facilitators) related to taking PrEP; inductive analysis focused on women''s experiences in the intervention. RESULTS: Participants in the WP3+ intervention reported: improved proportion of condom use in the past 90 days (p  <  .01) and in a typical week (p  <  .05); reduced PTS symptoms (p  <  .05); increased HIV knowledge (p  <  .0001) and awareness of PrEP (p  <  .001); and greater consideration of using PrEP (p  <  .001). In interviews, participants expressed not only increased knowledge but also appreciation for learning how to protect themselves against HIV, communicate with their partners, and take charge of their health, and they expressed greater receptiveness to using PrEP as a result of the knowledge and skills they gained. CONCLUSIONS: The WP3+ pilot study demonstrated preliminary efficacy and acceptability as an HIV-prevention program for African American women. A controlled trial is needed to confirm its efficacy for increasing PrEP use among African American women.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.