Researchers Receive $4.2M Grant to Improve PrEP Access and Prevent New HIV Infections

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System Will Test Two Strategies in Bronx Emergency Departments

BRONX, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bronx county has the country's fifth-highest rate of HIV diagnosis—but the lowest rate in New York State for use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medications that are extremely effective in preventing HIV infection. Physician-researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have received a five-year, $4.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to compare two strategies for improving PrEP access and use in the Bronx.  

"There are severe racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities in HIV infection rates and PrEP use, with people who identify as Black or African American and Hispanic shouldering the greatest burden," said Uriel Felsen, M.D., M.S., a principal investigator on the grant, associate professor of medicine at Einstein, medical director for HIV testing at the Montefiore AIDS Center, and assistant director of the clinical and translational sciences core at the Einstein-Rockefeller-CUNY Center for AIDS Research (ERC CFAR).

Rates of new infections among Black/African American people are more than eight times as high—and among Hispanic/Latino people nearly four times as high—as those of white people, according to the U.S. Department of Health. People in urban areas with high poverty rates are 10 times more likely to be living with HIV than those from more affluent areas. "Our goal," Dr. Felsen said "is to meet Bronx residents where they are in order to improve PrEP access and reduce HIV infection rates." 

Many people at risk for HIV seek care for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in emergency departments (EDs). But the traditional approach of focusing on acute illness in this setting is poorly suited for preventing HIV. While EDs can offer referrals to the appropriate services, "nationally, fewer than one-fourth of patients who are referred to sexual or HIV preventive care make appointments," said Viraj Patel, M.D., M.P.H., a principal investigator on the grant, associate professor of medicine at Einstein,  co-director of the Montefiore Prevention Program (which focuses on HIV), and associate director of the behavioral and implementation sciences core at the ERC CFAR. "It's crucial to find more efficient ways to connect ED patients for whom PrEP is recommended to the clinicians who can provide this highly effective medicine."  

The two strategies supported by the grant will be evaluated at different Bronx EDs, which are among the busiest in the nation. Participants in both strategies, totaling 1,400 people, will receive the appropriate treatment for their STI during their ED visit. One strategy will assign a sexual health navigator to contact patients after the ED visit. The navigator will provide PrEP education and attempt to enroll these patients in ongoing sexual and HIV preventive care. The second approach, called Tele-PrEP, offers people a telehealth consultation with a sexual health specialist while they're still in the ED. This specialist can provide information on and prescribe PrEP at that time and set up appointments with a care provider or facility that offers ongoing HIV preventive care.  

"We want to see whether the novel strategy of prescribing PrEP right in the ED can become a new national model for enrolling more people on this important tool to prevent HIV infection," said Dr. Patel.

The grant is titled "ED2PrEP - patient focused, low-burden strategies for PrEP uptake among emergency departments patients: a cross-over hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial." (1R01AI169636) Sarit Golub, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, is co-investigator on the grant.

Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester, and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram and LinkedIn, or view us on Facebook and YouTube. 

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2021-22 academic year, Einstein is home to 732 M.D. students, 190 Ph.D. students, 120 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 250 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2021, Einstein received more than $185 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in cancer, aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. For more information, please visit einsteinmed.org, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube. 

SOURCE Montefiore Health System; Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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