HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV PrEP) involves the use of a daily oral HIV medication (called antiretrovirals or HAART) by people who are HIV-negative to prevent HIV infection.
As of January 2018, HIV PrEP became provincially-funded for people in BC who may be at higher risk of HIV infection. Made available through the HIV Drug Treatment Program at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC CfE), HIV PrEP can be prescribed by any doctor licensed to practice in BC or any nurse practitioner who has completed the Treatment for HIV Prevention program at the BC CfE.
Tools for clinicians
A new HIV PrEP Provider Toolkit has been developed on SmartSexResource to support health care providers in increasing their understanding and knowledge of HIV PrEP.
This toolkit includes:
- an overview of provincially-funded HIV PrEP in BC
- resources to support clients in accessing and continuing on HIV PrEP
- an interactive tool to assess eligibility for HIV PrEP (HIRI-MSM score calculator)
- an HIV PrEP Fact Sheet
Tools to share with clients
A new HIV PrEP page has been created on SmartSexResource for people who are interested in accessing PrEP or who are already taking PrEP. Resources developed for clients include:
- frequently asked questions in English, Spanish, Punjabi and Simplified Chinese
- email/text reminders for PrEP follow-up testing
Please share these tools widely! If you have any feedback or comments about these HIV PrEP resources, please contact the SmartSexResource team at SmartSexResource@bccdc.ca.
