Barriers and Perceived Facilitators for PrEP Use Among Women of Color in South Florida: Findings from theEmpowering Women to Take Control of Their Sexual Health Summit

Abstract

This paper aims to summarize conference proceedings and testimonies from the, Empowering Women to Take Control of Their Sexual Health Summit, convened in South Florida. In the present study, the phrase, women of color, refers to 279 cisgender and transgender African American, Latina, and Haitian women. Data were collected through three 90-minute group discussions conducted at the conference. Individual-, social-, and structural-level PrEP barriers and facilitators were identified. Individual level barriers included: medical distrust, limited knowledge about PrEP, and economic dependence on sexual partners. Participants discussed cultural gender norms and roles as overarching social barriers, with religiosity reinforcing these norms. Structural barriers included: health literacy, health insurance coverage, immigration status, and structural racism. Community attributes that acted as facilitators of PrEP use were resilience and adaptability. Increasing PrEP utilization among women of color requires a multi-tiered approach to comprehensively address structural and community level barriers. Keywords: women, HIV, prevention, barriers, facilitators