A new study backed by the National Institute of Health has discovered that certain populations at risk of HIV infection are actually very good at taking PrEP, the drug that can prevent infection.
Each of the three groups of people studied represented populations who have historically suffered from disproportionate HIV infection rates for a number of different reasons: In South Africa, the study focused on heterosexual women who have sex with men and in New York and Thailand the study zeroed in on men who have sex with other men and transgender women.
For 24 weeks, each of the participants in the NIH study were prescribed Truvada, a form of PrEP, and given detailed instructions on how the drug is meant to be taken. Participants were also given a choice as to how they took the drug: They could take the drug once daily, twice weekly (with the caveat that they also take incidental dosages immediately after sex,) or they could opt to only take the pill immediately before and after sex as they deemed necessary.
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