"You Never Know What Could Happen": Women's Perspectives of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in the Context of Recent Intimate Partner Violence.

Abstract

Vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a significant public health issue for women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Despite the increased risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection, women only represent 4.6% of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users in the United States. IPV may present additional difficulties to PrEP access. In this qualitative study, we examined how IPV and the relational context shaped women's decisions, attitudes, and engagement in the PrEP care continuum. We conducted semistructured interviews with 19 women residing in Connecticut who participated in a prospective cohort study. We purposively recruited our sample to include women who reported physical and/or sexual IPV in the past 6months, and used a grounded theory approach to analyze the qualitative data. Our findings suggest multiple ways that the relational context can affect women's decisions, attitudes, and engagement in the PrEP care continuum. We identified five aspects of women's relationships that can shape women's interest, intentions, and access to PrEP: 1) relationship power struggles, 2) infidelity, 3) trust and monogamy, 4) male partner's reactions, and 5) "season of risk" (i.e., PrEP use only during times of perceived human immunodeficiency virus risk). Collectively, these findings suggest that women experiencing IPV might face additional relational challenges that need to be adequately addressed in settings administering PrEP. Communication on sexual risk reduction strategies should address relational factors and promote women's autonomy. Future research on long-acting and invisible forms of PrEP may help to circumvent some of the relational barriers women experiencing IPV may face when considering PrEP care.