Luciana Castoldi1, Marina Marques Berengan2, Nalu Silvana Both3, Vanessa Schmidt Fortes2, Tanara Vogel Pinheiro1. 1. Secretaria de Estado da Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, Ambulatório de Dermatologia Sanitária, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. 2. Escola de Saúde Pública do Rio Grande do Sul, Residência Integrada em Saúde, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. 3. Secretaria de Estado da Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, Hospital Sanatório Partenon, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of people who initiated HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in a public health service, evaluating the use of this technology by key populations as recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. METHODS: This was a retrospective longitudinal study using secondary data on service users receiving care between 2015-2018. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated and Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare behavioral characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 270 people evaluated, there was a higher frequency of young adults (45.4%), males (74.7%), people of white race/skin color (76.3%), with a high level of education (65.7%) and with multiple sex partners (40.7%). Among the key populations, there was a higher frequency of people who use alcohol and/or other drugs (49.6%) and men who have sex with men (38.1%), while transgender people (2.2%) and sex workers (4.8%) used PEP less. CONCLUSION: The use of PEP was not homogeneous among the vulnerable groups evaluated, with low frequency of transgender people and sex workers.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of people who initiated HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in a public health service, evaluating the use of this technology by key populations as recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. METHODS: This was a retrospective longitudinal study using secondary data on service users receiving care between 2015-2018. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated and Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare behavioral characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 270 people evaluated, there was a higher frequency of young adults (45.4%), males (74.7%), people of white race/skin color (76.3%), with a high level of education (65.7%) and with multiple sex partners (40.7%). Among the key populations, there was a higher frequency of people who use alcohol and/or other drugs (49.6%) and men who have sex with men (38.1%), while transgender people (2.2%) and sex workers (4.8%) used PEP less. CONCLUSION: The use of PEP was not homogeneous among the vulnerable groups evaluated, with low frequency of transgender people and sex workers.