Preventing the Spread of HIV
Our department provides targeted, science-based prevention programs throughout the state designed to prevent the spread of HIV in our communities. The HIV initiative emphasizes the use of proven public health approaches to reduce the incidence and spread of disease. The objectives of the initiative are:
- Make HIV testing a routine part of medical care.
- Implement new models for diagnosing HIV infections outside medical settings.
- Prevent new infections by working with people diagnosed with HIV and their partners.
- Further decrease mother-to-child HIV transmission.
The HIV Prevention Program consists of four primary components: Community Planning, Health Education/Risk Reduction, HIV Counseling and Testing, and Partner Counseling and Referral Services. These components work in conjunction with HIV Care programs to provide comprehensive services to those populations who are most at risk for becoming infected with HIV and those who are already infected with HIV.
The statewide community planning process is one of the primary means to ensure that HIV prevention programming will have broad community input, overview and endorsement. The Community Planning Group process consists of the following components: community assessment of HIV prevention needs, prioritization of populations most at risk for contracting HIV using epidemiological data, research and prioritization of behavioral interventions designed to reduce risk, and evaluation of these interventions to ensure efficacy.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Information
PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. PrEP is medicine taken to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. The word “prophylaxis” means to prevent or control the spread of an infection or disease. The goal of PrEP is to prevent an HIV-negative person from acquiring HIV from an HIV-positive partner. PrEP also works to prevent the spread of HIV through injection drug use. When taken as prescribed, PrEP has been found to reduce the likelihood of HIV infection by up to 90%. This effectiveness increases when combined with condoms, which are also necessary for the prevention of other sexually transmitted infections.
- PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%.
- PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use by at least 74%.
PrEP is less effective when it isn't taken as prescribed. Since PrEP only protects against HIV, using condoms is still important for the protection against other sexually transmitted infections. Condoms are also important to help prevent HIV when PrEP isn't taken as prescribed.
Currently, there are two FDA-approved daily oral medications for PrEP. There are also two FDA-approved long-acting injectable forms of PrEP, one that is administered every other month and the other is administered twice yearly.