"We Are All HIV Possible": How Normalizing PrEP Conversations Can Transform Prevention for Black and Brown Women

In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Jaimee Colvin, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, a family nurse practitioner and host of @PrepTalkwithJaimee, continues her discussion on PrEP disparities among cisgender women, which was shared at the 2026 American Conference for the treatment of HIV (ACTHIV).

With a TikTok audience of nearly 8000 followers — 79% of whom are women — Colvin describes her deliberate approach to dismantling the pervasive myth that HIV is exclusively a disease affecting men who have sex with men. Her social media strategy leads with data, consistently reiterating that Black and Brown cisgender women are currently leading the nation in new HIV diagnoses, a fact that she notes shocks women across every age demographic.

We still have providers who have patients who are coming into the office requesting PrEP, and they're being told things like 'that's not for you'—they’re being told things like 'you don't need that because you're not out there. ' If we have the power to prevent it, why don't we? — Jaimee Colvin, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

Colvin emphasizes that stigma remains one of the most significant structural barriers to PrEP initiation for women. She recounts firsthand accounts of patients being actively discouraged from PrEP by providers who characterized the medication as unnecessary for women in committed relationships or those not perceived as engaging in high-risk behavior. These dismissals, she argues, reflect a dangerous conflation of moral judgment with clinical decision-making—and have direct consequences for patient health outcomes. Pharmacists should be alert to patients who may arrive at the pharmacy uninformed or discouraged and be prepared to offer affirming, evidence-based counseling that reinforces PrEP as a clinically appropriate option regardless of perceived risk profile.

Colvin also underscores the power of provider transparency and personal storytelling as clinical tools. She advocates for practitioners—including pharmacists—to share their own experiences with PrEP where appropriate, noting that authenticity and relatability can be far more effective than clinical language alone in driving meaningful behavior change.