Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41954808›Full record

ArticleAIDS and behavior2026

HIV-Stigmatizing Beliefs and Attitudes as a Barrier to Early PrEP Care Continuum Engagement Among People Who Inject Drugs.

Suzan M Walters, Hyungrok Do, Jessica Jaiswal, Mehrdad Khezri, Roman Ivasiy, Samuel R Friedman, Danielle C Ompad, Omar El Shahawy, Sahanah Lim, John A Schneider and 4 more

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Article in AIDS and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Suzan M WaltersDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. suzan.walters@nyulangone.org.
Hyungrok DoDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Jessica JaiswalDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Mehrdad KhezriDepartment of Epidemiology, New York University School of Global Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Roman IvasiyYale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, USA.
Samuel R FriedmanDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Danielle C OmpadCenter for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research, New York, NY, USA.
Omar El ShahawyDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Sahanah LimDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
John A SchneiderDepartment of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Alida BourisWork, Policy and Practice, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ricky N BluthenthalDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Valerie A EarnshawDepartment of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Jimi HuhDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

Intersectional Stigma Experiences, Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Other Service Use Among People Who Inject DrugsK01DA053159 · NIDA · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI WALTERS, SUZAN M · 2021 to 2025
$927k
NIDA NIH HHS K01DA053159
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective prevention strategy, yet awareness, knowledge, and willingness to use it among people who inject drugs (PWID) remains inadequate despite widespread eligibility. Stigma, particularly HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes, may be a key barrier to engagement at early stages of the PrEP care continuum. We examine how HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes affect PrEP awareness, knowledge, and willingness among PWID. We surveyed 262 HIV-negative PWID in Los Angeles and Denver (2021-2023) and used structural equation modeling to examine associations between HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes (11-item validated scale with α = 0.899 and 1-factor structure) and three early PrEP outcomes: awareness, knowledge, and willingness, while controlling for race/ethnicity, gender, housing status, and conducted sub-analyses on willingness to use long-acting injectable PrEP. HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes were significantly associated with lower PrEP awareness (β - 0.212, p < 0.001) and less accurate knowledge (β - 0.179, p = 0.006). Accurate knowledge was associated with greater willingness to use PrEP (β 0.175, p = 0.027). Black, Indigenous, and Other Persons of Color (BIPOC) participants reported higher HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes than non-Hispanic White participants (β 0.196, p = 0.003). Over half (56%) of participants were willing to take daily oral PrEP once informed, and many were interested in long-acting injectable PrEP. HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes are associated with lower PrEP care continuum engagement among PWID, particularly through limiting awareness and understanding of PrEP. BIPOC participants reported higher levels of stigmatizing attitudes, suggesting that broader structural and intersectional stigma may shape PrEP engagement, consistent with prior research. Interventions to increase PrEP uptake should address both individual- and structural-level stigma and consider leveraging peer networks and community supports to foster resilience and improve equitable access to HIV prevention tools.

Indexed as

HIV-stigmatizing beliefs and attitudesPeople who inject drugs (PWID)Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.