July 15, 2025
New Study Shows How Providers Can Use Apretude To Prevent And Treat HIV In Black Women
A new study aims to help healthcare providers more effectively implement Apretude, a medication used for HIV prevention.
A new study explores how healthcare providers can effectively implement Apretude for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among Black cisgender and transgender women.
A new study presented at the International AIDS Society meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, examines strategies to expand access to PrEP, one of the core pillars of the U.S. Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030, Managed Healthcare reports.
Despite its importance, only 36% of those who could benefit from PrEP are currently using it.
The study found that successful implementation of the PrEP regimen can be achieved by increasing staff and patient education, addressing patient mistrust, and offering flexible scheduling. This insight is critical, as approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV, and Black women account for nearly 50% of new HIV diagnoses among both cisgender and transgender women in the United States.
“Despite some considerations and strategies potentially being more relevant to Black cis- and transgender women, such as medical mistrust, miseducation, and patient identification, many are widely applicable across the healthcare spectrum and broader populations, including clinical staff training, designating physical and personnel resources, and appointment reminders,” researchers wrote in the study, which was published July 2.
Apretude was developed by ViiV Healthcare as a long-acting form of cabotegravir designed to reduce the risk of HIV-1 in adults and adolescents. Administered by a healthcare professional, it is given as an injection every two months following two initial doses in the first month.
Researchers found that when introducing PrEP, healthcare professionals initially expressed concerns around patient identification, treatment adherence, and insurance verification. When it came to prescribing Apretude for Black cisgender and transgender women, providers cited additional challenges such as medical mistrust and limited or inaccurate patient knowledge.
To overcome these barriers, professionals recommend strategies like involving staff with health education experience, providing accessible educational materials, and building partnerships with clinics and community-based organizations.
“Recognizing the uncertainties of funding, it is important now more than ever to advocate for and prioritize HIV prevention and PrEP choice as this remains the most important tool in the arsenal to end HIV,” the researchers said.
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