Social media and implications of online HIV PrEP retrieval

Abstract

This session will discuss hazards that can result from purchasing HIV PrEP online and unsubstantiated peer advice associated with safety and efficacy. Dialogue about medications online is often well-intended. However, minimal accountability for accuracy can prove to be detrimental. Participants will be able to suggest limitations of unregulated online conversations and offer plausible safeguard approaches.

Proposal Summary

Reliance upon social media platforms for medical advice concerning HIV PrEP is increasing. Verification tools have yet to surface that confidently confirm profile personas match actual individuals. Inability to authenticate users can lead to errant advice being offered which may result in problematic outcomes. Recreational use of HIV PrEP revealed in social media forums counters the original intent of the biomedical intervention. The workshop facilitator will disclose and dissect online conversations that prompt buying non-FDA approved, HIV PrEP primarily from international sources. Such medications are readily available through internet – based mediums often under loose regulations. The main rationale for purchases appears to be disparities in cost between the FDA – approved medication for HIV PrEP and alternative forms available online. A decrease in motivation for patients to be assessed in healthcare facilities is possible if online HIV PrEP usage becomes widespread. Additionally, diminished abilities to monitor patients' behaviors long term due to the presence of online HIV PrEP may be on the horizon. The workshop facilitator will explore questions and responses that consistently circulate within online communities around adherence to HIV PrEP. Vulnerabilities resulting from a lack of confidence in healthcare advice being offered will be described. The workshop facilitator will also examine growing trends of deliberate misrepresentations of online social media profiles designed to derail optimal medication regimens. An overarching goal for attendees is to elaborate upon the responsibilities of healthcare professionals and the community at-large to promote accurate, medically-oriented online conversations. Attendees will also participate in operationalizing quality assurance efforts that can result from innovations such as instituting web-based, multidisciplinary task forces.

Relevance And Significance

The workshop presentation relates to the “Clinical Research” and “Prevention and Intervention” tracks. Antiretroviral therapies operate as key components in the treatment, and increasingly the prevention, of HIV infections. Side effects of antiretroviral medications can be patient-specific. Patients usually are taking other drug regimens for separate medical conditions that may decrease the effectiveness of antiretroviral medications or lead to toxic levels of antiretroviral medications in the body. These considerations warrant close monitoring under the supervision of trained healthcare professionals. Challenges to accessing sustainable medical care may compel citizens of rural communities to purchase non-FDA approved HIV PrEP from online venues. Elevating awareness of session participants about this growing internet trend is expected to better inform subsequent dialogue with patients about their medication acquisition tendencies. While the long term implications of this internet practice are widely unknown, contributors may be inadvertently negating the intended benefits of HIV PrEP while fostering complicated resistance patterns. The unifying aim of this workshop presentation is to generate collective solutions to prevent sabotaging the excellent strides in HIV prevention and treatment strategies that have been introduced to society.

Session Format

Presentation Session

Keywords

PrEP, Internet, Social Media, Regulations

Publication Type and Release Option

Event

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Social media and implications of online HIV PrEP retrieval

This session will discuss hazards that can result from purchasing HIV PrEP online and unsubstantiated peer advice associated with safety and efficacy. Dialogue about medications online is often well-intended. However, minimal accountability for accuracy can prove to be detrimental. Participants will be able to suggest limitations of unregulated online conversations and offer plausible safeguard approaches.