Term of Award
Fall 2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Public Health in Public Health Leadership (Dr.P.H.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (open access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
College of Public Health
Committee Chair
Stacy Smallwood
Committee Member 1
Bettye Apenteng
Committee Member 2
William Mase
Abstract
African American Women (AAW) make up less than 15% of the female population in the United States but account for over 50% of new HIV diagnoses among females. This largely preventable health disparity can be mitigated by advocating and prescribing Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a preventive HIV medication, to persons at risk. Despite advances in medication options, there are less than 13% of Black people who could benefit from having been prescribed PrEP, and limited research and promotion on the effectiveness of PrEP for AAW. The “ShePrEP Study” aimed to assess awareness, perceptions, and receptivity toward PrEP among AAW. This study employed quantitative methods to evaluate AAW's willingness to take PrEP, considering the influence of messaging and the messenger. A survey was disseminated using Qualtrics to over 300 participants across the United States. This study identified critical psychosocial factors that served as barriers to PrEP uptake, which can be utilized to guide more culturally sensitive sexual health campaigns and offer valuable insights into the evolution of PrEP communications. The findings suggest that marketing efforts should incorporate images of AAW conveying universal messages, which are likely to resonate most effectively and garner greater social approval among AAW. The study also highlighted physicians as trusted health messengers, concluding the need for provider education and promotion of PrEP as a sexual health option.
Recommended Citation
Spears, Christian C., "ShePrEP: Examining the Influence of the Messaging and the Messenger Associated with PrEP Uptake Among African American Women" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2678.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/2678
Research Data and Supplementary Material
Yes
IRB Approval
H23095 Amendment #1 Approval .pdf (100 kB)
IRB Amendment
Appendix A - Survey_IRB Revision.pdf (622 kB)
Appendix A - Survey Questions
Survey Marketing for Dissemination.pptx (4678 kB)
Survey Marketing
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Other Public Health Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Work Commons, Virus Diseases Commons, Women's Health Commons
