Disparities in Awareness of HIV Postexposure and Preexposure Prophylaxis Among Notified Partners of HIV-Positive Individuals, New York City 2015-2017.

BACKGROUND: Named sex- or needle-sharing partners of HIV-positive individuals are a priority prevention population due to their known HIV exposure. Understanding postexposure and preexposure prophylaxis (PEP and PrEP) awareness and use among them is important for successful interventions.

METHODS: Data from notified partners of HIV-positive individuals (New York City, May 2015-April 2017) were analyzed to describe PEP/PrEP awareness, provider discussion, and use by sociodemographic and risk characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression was used to generate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of partners' PEP and PrEP awareness.

RESULTS: Among notified partners (n = 621), PEP and PrEP awareness were 34% and 44%, respectively; provider discussion of PEP was reported by 32% and of PrEP by 42%; PEP use was reported by 2% and PrEP use by 14%. PEP awareness was higher among men who have sex with men sex partners than among heterosexual sex partners (aOR: 4.21; 95% CI: 2.10 to 8.44). Odds of PrEP awareness were lower among black (aOR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.75) and Hispanic partners (aOR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.84) than among white partners, and higher among men who have sex with men than heterosexual sex partners (aOR: 4.60; 95% CI: 2.38 to 8.87). Black partners were less likely than whites to report a provider discussion of PrEP. Postnotification HIV-positive test results were significantly lower among partners reporting PEP awareness than among those who had not heard of PEP.

CONCLUSIONS: Low levels of PEP/PrEP awareness and of provider PEP/PrEP discussion among notified partners, particularly blacks, Hispanics, and heterosexual sex partners, indicate the timeliness of tailored prevention messaging, provider training, and sensitization, to avoid disparities in PEP/PrEP use.