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

Creative Commons License
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.

OCLC Number

1417420624

Research Data and Supplementary Material

Yes

H23095 IRB EXEMPT APPROVAL.pdf (105 kB)
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

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