PrEP Uptake and Emergent HIV infections in Southern Arizona: Is There A Disconnect?

BACKGROUND: Despite expansion of antiretroviral therapy in recent years and growing evidence for PrEP (pre exposure prophylaxis) efficacy, HIV incidence has continued to rise while PrEP uptake has remained low, particularly in populations at risk. Our goal is to compare these populations and further identify discrepancies in populations at risk in Southern Arizona. METHODS: We retroactively reviewed health records for patients evaluated at Banner University Medical Center Tucson outpatient clinics between January 2014 and September 2016, either with a new HIV diagnosis or prescribed tenofovir/emtricitabine for PrEP. RESULTS: We identified 147 patients with new HIV diagnoses and 65 patients evaluated for PrEp. 63% of the newly diagnosed HIV were of Hispanic, African American or American Indian descend (46%, 14% and 3% respectively) while the majority of PrEP patients were White (58%) with a statistically significant difference between the groups (P = 0.006). There was no significant difference between the age groups [28 (19%) of the HIV and 13 (20%) of the PrEP were 18–24] or gender (88% of people accessing HIV care were men, vs. 91% men seen for PrEP). Insurance information at the time of presentation was available for 145 HIV and 64 PrEP patients with statistically significant differences between the groups. 31(21%) newly diagnosed HIV had no insurance and 71 (49%) had a Medicaid plan while 45 (70%) of PrEP patients has a private insurance plan (P < 0.001). None of the people accessing PrEP reported iv drug use as a risk factor compared with 16 (11%) of the newly diagnosed (P = 0.003). Retention in care at 3 months was similar (76% of HIV and 75% of PrEP). The predominant risk categories were MSM with multiple partners and/or condomless anal sex for both groups. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first study evaluating HIV and PrEP health care disparities in a border region of the Southwestern US, which is home to a large Hispanic minority population. Our findings suggest that low income minority populations, such as Hispanic, African American and American Indian in this region continue to have a higher risk for HIV acquisition and highlights the ongoing need to expand research on how these populations perceive their risk for HIV and navigate complex systems, such as health insurance, when seeking clinical services for PreP. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.