Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

PrEP, HIV, and the Importance of Health Communication

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Remaking HIV Prevention in the 21st Century

Part of the book series: Social Aspects of HIV ((SHIV,volume 5))

  • 418 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, we argue that communication, specifically mass media, interpersonal communication, and app-based communication, can be valuable tools to increase awareness and adoption of PrEP among MSM. When employed strategically, mass media can function to inform audiences about PrEP and influence individuals to discuss it with their healthcare provider. Interpersonal communication, particularly doctor-patient communication, can be a way for healthcare providers to build relationships with their patients and encourage healthy behaviors, such as the adoption of PrEP. Lastly, dating/hookup apps such as Grindr and Scruff, allow for the opportunity to reach MSM in innovative ways and to provide them with hyper-local information about PrEP, HIV, and other sexual health resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Badal, H. J., Stryker, J. E., DeLuca, N., & Purcell, D. W. (2018). Swipe right: Dating website and app use among men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 22, 1265–1272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, V. (2004). Working with daytime and primetime television shows in the United States to promote health. In A. Singhal, M. J. Cody, E. M. Rogers, & M. Sabido (Eds.), Entertainment-education and social change (pp. 207–224). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonvicini, K. A. (2017). LGBT healthcare disparities: What progress have we made? Patient Education and Counseling, 100, 2357–2361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brashers, D. E., Goldsmith, D. J., & Hsieh, E. (2002). Information seeking and avoiding in health contexts. Human Communication Research, 28, 258–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. A., Landrian, A., Nieto, O., & Fehrenbacher, A. (2019). Experiences of anticipated and enacted pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) stigma among Latino MSM in Los Angeles. AIDS and Behavior, 23, 1964–1973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, T., Bath, M., Bradbear, R., Cottle, J., & Parrett, N. (2009). An evaluation of performance-arts based HIV-prevention events in London with 13–16 year olds. Perspectives in Public Health, 129, 216–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro, D. R., Delabre, R. M., Morel, S., Michels, D., & Spire, B. (2019). Community engagement in the provision of culturally competent HIV and STI prevention services: Lessons from the French experience in the era of PrEP. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 22, 72–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cegala, D. J., Coleman, M. T., & Turner, J. W. (1998). The development and partial assessment of the medical communication competence scale. Health Communication, 10, 261–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cegala, D. J., Street, R. L., Jr., & Clinch, C. R. (2007). The impact of patient participation on physicians’ information provision during a primary care medical interview. Health Communication, 21(2), 177–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currin, J. M., Hubach, R. D., Durham, A. R., Kavanaugh, K. E., Vineyard, Z., & Croff, J. M. (2017). How gay and bisexual men compensate for the lack of meaningful sex education in a socially conservative state. Sex Education, 17(6), 667–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Czarny, H. N., & Broaddus, M. R. (2017). Acceptability of HIV prevention information delivered through established geosocial networking mobile applications to men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 21, 3122–3128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlhamer, J. M., Galinsky, A. M., Joestl, S. S., & Ward, B. W. (2017). Sexual orientation and health information technology use: A nationally representative study of US adults. LGBT Health, 4(2), 121–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dasinger, L. K., Krause, N., Thompson, P. J., Brand, R. J., & Rudolph, L. (2001). Doctor proactive communication, return-to-work recommendation, and duration of disability after a workers’ compensation low back injury. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 43, 515–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durso, L. E., & Meyer, I. H. (2013). Patterns and predictors of disclosure of sexual orientation to healthcare providers among lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 10, 35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dyche, L. (2007). Interpersonal skill in medicine: The essential partner of verbal communication. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22, 1035–1039.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eliason, M. J., Dibble, S. L., & Robertson, P. A. (2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) physicians’ experiences in the workplace. Journal of Homosexuality, 58, 1355–1371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fields, E. L., Long, A., Dangerfield, D. T., Morgan, A., Uzzi, M., Arrington-Sanders, R., & Jennings, J. M. (2020). There’s an app for that: Using geosocial networking apps to access young black gay, bisexual, and other MSM at risk for HIV. American Journal of Health Promotion, 34, 42–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foss, K. A., & Blake, K. (2019). “It’s natural and healthy, but I don’t want to see it”: Using entertainment-education to improve attitudes toward breastfeeding in public. Health Communication, 34, 919–930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, C. (2019, March 25). 10 years of Grindr: A rocky relationship. BBC News. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47668951.

  • Freimuth, V. S., & Quinn, S. C. (2004). The contributions of health communication to eliminating health disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 2053–2055.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuzzell, L., Fedesco, H. N., Alexander, S. C., Fortenberry, J. D., & Shields, C. G. (2016). “I just think that doctors need to ask more questions”: Sexual minority and majority adolescents’ experiences talking about sexuality with healthcare providers. Patient Education and Counseling, 99, 1467–1472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glazek, C. (2013, September 30). Why is no one on the first treatment to prevent HIV? New Yorker. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/why-is-no-one-on-the-first-treatment-to-prevent-h-i-v.

  • Ha, J. F., & Longnecker, N. (2010). Doctor-patient communication: A review. Ochsner Journal, 10, 38–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, W., Sun, C. J., Tanner, A. E., Mann, L., Stowers, J., & Rhodes, S. D. (2017). HIV-prevention opportunities with GPS-based social and sexual networking applications for men who have sex with men. AIDS Education and Prevention, 29, 38–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halton, B. R., Roberts, J. N., & Denton, G. D. (2019). Factors associated with discussions of human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis in men who have sex with men. Ochsner Journal, 19, 188–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatzenbuehler, M. L., & Pachankis, J. E. (2016). Stigma and minority stress as social determinants of health among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: Research evidence and clinical implications. Pediatric Clinics, 63, 985–997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirshfield, S., Grov, C., Parsons, J. T., Anderson, I., & Chiasson, M. A. (2015). Social media use and HIV transmission risk behavior among ethnically diverse HIV-positive gay men: Results of an online study in three US states. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 1969–1978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jabson, J. M., Patterson, J. G., & Kamen, C. (2017). Understanding health information seeking on the internet among sexual minority people: Cross-sectional analysis from the health information national trends survey. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 3(2), e39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser Family Foundation. (2014). HIV/AIDS in the lives of gay and bisexual men in the United States. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from http://www.kff.org/report-section/hivaids-in-the-lives-of-gay-and-bisexual-men-in-the-united-states-section-4-condom-use-and-hiv-testing/.

  • Kesten, J. M., Dias, K., Burns, F., Crook, P., Howarth, A., Mercer, C. H., et al. (2019). Acceptability and potential impact of delivering sexual health promotion information through social media and dating apps to MSM in England: A qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 19, 1236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. (2017, May 3). Gilead slowly rolls out ads for Truvada for PrEP – 4 years after approval. MM&M. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.mmm-online.com/home/channel/campaigns/gilead-slowly-rolls-out-ads-for-truvada-for-prep-4-years-after-approval/.

  • LGBT Health Education Center. (2017). Do ask, do tell: Talking to your healthcare provider about being LGBT. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.lgbtqiahealtheducation.org/wp-content/uploads/COM13-067_LGBTHAWbrochure_v4.pdf.

  • Lim, F. A., Brown, D. V., Jr., & Kim, S. M. J. (2014). CE: Addressing health care disparities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population: A review of best practices. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 114, 24–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A., Cohen, S., Follansbee, S., Cohan, D., Weber, S., Sachdev, D., & Buchbinder, S. (2014). Early experiences implementing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention in San Francisco. PLoS Medicine, 11, 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matusitz, J., & Spear, J. (2014). Effective doctor–patient communication: An updated examination. Social Work in Public Health, 29, 252–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, K. H., Bradford, J. B., Makadon, H. J., Stall, R., Goldhammer, H., & Landers, S. (2008). Sexual and gender minority health: What we know and what needs to be done. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 989–995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moll, J., Krieger, P., Moreno-Walton, L., Lee, B., Slaven, E., James, T., et al. (2014). The prevalence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health education and training in emergency medicine residency programs: What do we know? Academic Emergency Medicine, 21, 608–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, K. M., & Carey, M. P. (2016). Media literacy is an essential component of HIV prevention for young men who have sex with men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(4), 787.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obedin-Maliver, J., Goldsmith, E. S., Stewart, L., White, W., Tran, E., Brenman, S., et al. (2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender–related content in undergraduate medical education. JAMA, 306, 971–977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petroll, A. E., & Mitchell, J. W. (2015). Health insurance and disclosure of same-sex sexual behaviors among gay and bisexual men in same-sex relationships. LGBT Health, 2, 48–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosengren, A. L., Menza, T. W., LeGrand, S., Muessig, K. E., Bauermeister, J. A., & Hightow-Weidman, L. B. (2019). Stigma and mobile app use among young black men who have sex with men. AIDS Education and Prevention, 31, 523–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabin, J. A., Riskind, R. G., & Nosek, B. A. (2015). Health care providers’ implicit and explicit attitudes toward lesbian women and gay men. American Journal of Public Health, 105, 1831–1841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, J., & Grimm, J. (2016). Uncertainty in online US news coverage of Truvada. Health Communication, 31, 1250–1257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, J., & Grimm, J. (2017). PrEP on twitter: Information, barriers, and stigma. Health Communication, 32, 509–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, J., & Grimm, J. (2019). Stigma communication surrounding PrEP: The experiences of a sample of men who have sex with men. Health Communication, 34, 84–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shilts, R. (1987). And the band played on. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. K., & Turell, S. C. (2017). Perceptions of healthcare experiences: Relational and communicative competencies to improve care for LGBT people. Journal of Social Issues, 73, 637–657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St. Vil, N. M., Przybyla, S., & LaValley, S. (2019). Barriers and facilitators to initiating PrEP conversations: Perspectives and experiences of health care providers. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 18, 166–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, C. J., Stowers, J., Miller, C., Bachmann, L. H., & Rhodes, S. D. (2015). Acceptability and feasibility of using established geosocial and sexual networking mobile applications to promote HIV and STD testing among men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 19, 543–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, C. J., Anderson, K. M., Bangsberg, D., Toevs, K., Morrison, D., Wells, C., et al. (2019). Access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in practice settings: A qualitative study of sexual and gender minority adults’ perspectives. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 34, 535–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valdiserri, R. O., & Holtgrave, D. R. (2019). Ending HIV in America: Not without the power of community. AIDS and Behavior, 23, 2899–2903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ventuneac, A., John, S. A., Whitfield, T. H., Mustanski, B., & Parsons, J. T. (2018). Preferences for sexual health smartphone app features among gay and bisexual men. AIDS and Behavior, 22, 3384–3394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, W., Brenman, S., Paradis, E., Goldsmith, E. S., Lunn, M. R., Obedin-Maliver, J., et al. (2015). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patient care: Medical students’ preparedness and comfort. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 27, 254–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2016). Health literacy. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/9gchp/health-literacy/en/

  • WHO. (2017). HIV/AIDS. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news/hiv-testing-prep/en/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manship School of Mass Communication, Lousiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA

    Josh Grimm

  2. College of Arts, Media and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, USA

    Joseph Schwartz

Authors
  1. Josh Grimm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joseph Schwartz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Josh Grimm .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Sarah Bernays

  2. Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Adam Bourne

  3. Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia

    Susan Kippax

  4. Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia

    Peter Aggleton

  5. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA

    Richard Parker

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Grimm, J., Schwartz, J. (2021). PrEP, HIV, and the Importance of Health Communication. In: Bernays, S., Bourne, A., Kippax, S., Aggleton, P., Parker, R. (eds) Remaking HIV Prevention in the 21st Century. Social Aspects of HIV, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69819-5_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69819-5_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-69818-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-69819-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation