On the sixth day of the first week of the PrEParing online course, teachers suggest recalling the lectures of the first module and preparing for a test on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.
The review of the first week of the course was the same as the last lecture, in the form of a dialogue between Shima, the guy we the already know, and Cedric - another man who takes the Truvada as PrEP.
After the greetings, the guys go on to discuss the lectures.
“So what makes PrEP right for someone?” Shima asks.
“PrEP, in short, is a decision that a person takes for self-defense. A person embraces a personal life view to understanding what risks of getting HIV he or she has. Therefore, if a person is having sex without a condom, injecting drugs or,”— says Cedric.
“[CROSSTALK] has several sexual partners,” — supports his Shima.
“That’s why people start to chat with friends, peer consultants, and even PrEP providers, discussing complex details of their lives that potentially putting them at risk of getting HIV. These questions are about how to get PrEP, where to get and how to pay for it. So answering to such questions at the right time and place makes providing PrEP in risk groups more successful.”
“Yes, I think that it is paramount that you have the opportunity to talk with all possible parties at the time when you make a decision, whether to start PrEP or not. And the central question for all in this circumstances is whether PrEP is effective, does it work? Right?”
“Right,” laughs Cedric.
“Yes, people are interested — what’s the evidence behind PrEP? Or is it just an experiment,” says Shima
“Exactly.”
“People do not understand that PrEP was approved by the FDA five years ago. Scientists have proved that if you take tablets prescribed within the PrEP course every day, if you have adherence to it, then you are protected from HIV with the effectiveness of about 90-99% even in a case of direct contact with an HIV-positive person.”
“Yes, it is necessary to educate, telling people how effective the PrEP programs are for HIV prevention.”
“Look, taking PrEP for seven days creates a reliable barrier against HIV in the anal tissue, and 21 days builds up that protection in the vaginal tissue. Therefore, it is so important to tell women about PrEP and the peculiarities of its application, in particular for women. It is important for women to understand how PrEP is fit with or without birth control.”
“It’s funny when people always mention PrEP as the birth control for HIV. ”
“Yes,” laughs Cedric
“Because PrEP is much more effective than contraception.”
“Yes, especially if you take the pill every day, as prescribed by the doctor. For women who already take one tablet a day for birth control, adding another pill for PrEP is not a challenge but will significantly reduce the risk of getting HIV. In this case, a woman is to be protected from both unwanted pregnancy and HIV.”
“And again we return to the science. Studies show that people of any sex can take PrEP if they feel themselves at a high risk of exposure to HIV in their lives and if they want to protect themselves in such circumstances. It’s not a single study — there have been a lot of such research in the world, and all of them show that the key to the PrEP effectiveness is adherence to the daily intake of pills. Variations in countries are only in the way to obtain PrEP, by what channels, for money or for free. I noticed an interesting thing that in some states, Truvada exists in the form of generics, non-original drugs. In such countries, people buy PrEP for money, and it costs about $0.25.”
“I heard that there is a website where the availability of PrEP in the world presented,” says Cedric.
“Yes, PrePWatch,” — helps Shima.
“You showed me it earlier, prepwatch.org, there is an interactive map on the site where you can click on the particular country you are interested in and find out how it is handling PrEP.”
“And see how access to PrEP is regulated in different countries.”
“Yes, such information is relevant all over the world, so be sure to check the PrEPWatch.org website.”
“I agree, this is a cool resource. So we finish the first week of the PrEParing course, thank you!” says Shima.
This is the first module of the PrEParing online course is over, and tomorrow we are about passing the test. Feel free to ask questions and sign up for a PrEParing course at https://www.coursera.org/learn/prep.
Stay with us and stay healthy!
P. S. The original article was posted on the Life4me+ mobile app for HIV-positive persons blog.
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