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Medical students undereducated on PrEP
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Out of 1,588 medical school students from across the United States, 28% were unaware of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, suggesting that medical students are largely undereducated on this important aspect of HIV prevention, according to findings presented at IDWeek.
PrEP remains underused in clinical practice. Because knowledge of PrEP increases prescription, early education in medical school is critical, researchers said.
Brandon Imp, MD, internal medicine/preventive medicine resident at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, and colleagues asked medical students at 18 U.S. medical schools to complete surveys on awareness, knowledge, beliefs and experiences regarding PrEP in May and June 2015. To assess their knowledge, students completed a 10-question quiz on PrEP facts.
Out of 1,588 medical students who completed the surveys, 28% were unaware of PrEP for HIV prevention. Analysis showed that 18% of students in their 4th year were never educated about PrEP in medical school compared with 40% of those in their 1st year (P < .001). According to the researchers, 57% of students thought clinicians should try behavioral intervention before prescribing PrEP, 45% thought patients would not adhere to PrEP and 22% thought that PrEP was ineffective. When students had experience caring for IV drug users or knew someone with HIV besides a patient with HIV, they were more likely to be aware of PrEP. Scoring higher on the knowledge assessment was linked to students’ confidence in determining a patient’s candidacy for PrEP, as well as having recommended PrEP in a clinical setting for 3rd and 4th year medical students.
Given the limited education medical students have on PrEP and the overall underuse of PrEP in clinical practice, the researchers recommended including PrEP more heavily in medical school education.
“This study demonstrates the limited awareness, knowledge, beliefs and experiences medical students have of PrEP for HIV prevention,” Imp told Infectious Disease News. “Responses were collected from 18 medical schools across the country, suggesting the deficit is systemic in the medical education system. Studies of clinicians have demonstrated similar findings and recommended education starting in medical school; these results further confirm the need.” – by Savannah Demko
References:
Imp B, et al. Abstract 879. Presented at: IDWeek 2017; Oct. 4-8, 2017; San Diego.
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.