HIV / STI
Increasing PrEP Access: Potential Pharmacy Integration in the Southeastern US Siena Senn* Siena Senn Senn Senn Senn Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Department of Epidemiology and Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences, Atlanta, GA, United States
Background
Although pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can prevent up to 99% of HIV transmissions with proper adherence, uptake remains low and disparities persist, especially in the Southeastern United States (US). Pharmacies represent a practical avenue to expand access to PrEP, but little is known about their proximity compared to PrEP-prescribing locations.
Methods
Data was compiled from the 2024 National Council for Prescription Drug Programs for active retail and community pharmacies, PrEP Locator for public and private PrEP-prescribing locations, and census block population-weighted centroids for 3 states in the Southeastern US with the highest HIV burden (Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana). ArcGIS Pro was leveraged to determine the straight-line distance in miles to the closest pharmacy and PrEP-prescribing location from each centroid.
Results
Across all 3 states, the median distance to the nearest pharmacy was 0.89 miles vs. 3.46 miles for PrEP-prescribing locations. Separately, the median distance to the closest pharmacy vs. PrEP-prescribing location as well as the respective minimums and maximums were 0.74 miles [0.01, 68.6] vs. 2.81 miles [0.03, 69.0] for Florida (n = 5,160 census blocks), 1.18 miles [0.01, 21.6] vs. 4.48 miles [0.06, 47.7] for Georgia (n = 2,796 census blocks), and 1.12 miles [0.02, 35.60] vs. 5.45 miles [0.04, 71.1] for Louisiana (n = 1,388 census blocks). Notably, a wide range of values was observed but PrEP-prescribing locations were consistently farther from people than pharmacies. (Figure 1).
Conclusion
These findings suggest a substantial potential decrease in distance to pharmacies versus PrEP-prescribing locations. Legislation providing pharmacists with the authority to dispense PrEP is thus needed to improve HIV prevention efforts from a convenience and access perspective.
