Abstract

Despite improvements in HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake during the past decade, engagement remains low among minority and rural populations due to social and structural barriers, leading to disproportionate rates of new infections in these communities. Although some barriers to PrEP services are known, perspectives among rural and minority communities are under-researched, limiting effective intervention development. This is particularly true in Missouri, an Ending the HIV Epidemic priority state due to both rural and urban epidemics. In partnership with rural-serving public health and community-based organizations, this proposal aims to identify patient and provider perspectives on barriers and facilitators to PrEP services in rural and urban Missouri through implementation science-informed qualitative methods. These findings will inform a future NIH R34 grant to design and test tailored implementation strategies to optimize PrEP services in rural and urban Missouri and thus improve equitable HIV prevention services.