Closing the PrEP Gap for Cisgender Women: Insights From ACTHIV 2026 on Education, Stigma, and Provider Accountability

In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Jaimee Colvin, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, a family nurse practitioner and host of @PrepTalkwithJaimee, discussed key topics from the 2026 American Conference for the Treatment of HIV (ACTHIV), focusing on the persistent and alarming gap between HIV diagnosis rates and PrEP uptake among cisgender Black and Brown women.

Colvin identified provider discomfort, lack of education, and deeply rooted medical mistrust as the primary barriers to access, arguing that sexual health assessments must be normalized within routine clinical care with the same rigor applied to cardiovascular and metabolic health screenings.

Pharmacy Times: Can you please introduce yourself?

Jaimee Colvin, MSN, APRN, FNP-C: My name is Jaimee Colvin. I am a family nurse practitioner who has since specialized in sexual health and a little bit of infectious disease via training by my mentors. I am the head nurse practitioner at two clinics here in Atlanta, Georgia. One is Carl B. Men's Health and Wellness Center; the other is Total Life Care Center, which is a clinic within Mason.

Pharmacy Times: The data shows cisgender women make up 19% of new HIV diagnoses nationally but only 9% of PrEP users. What do you think are the biggest drivers of that gap, and why has it been so persistent?

Colvin: One of the biggest drivers of the gap is access, as well as education. With that being said, I will say that a lot of cisgender Black and Brown women are not being educated, and not only are they not being educated, they don't have much access to PrEP via their providers. A lot of Black and Brown women are in places where they are running into providers who are not very confident about PrEP. I'm going to be completely transparent when I say that there is not only some medical mistrust, but also what does not help that medical mistrust is the ignorance—for lack of a better word—of the majority of the providers who are not discussing PrEP with Black and Brown women. If we put as much emphasis on our sexual health assessment as providers as we do on our cardiovascular assessment, our pulmonary workup, or our workup when discussing the kidneys and other functions of the human body, then it would be a great segue to a seamless conversation about sexual health, PrEP, HIV prevention, and those types of things.

Pharmacy Times: PrEP Talk with Jaimee uses a three-pronged approach — community, clinical, and digital. In your experience, which of those channels has been most effective at reaching Black and Brown women aged 18–35 in Fulton County, and why?

Colvin: I'm going to be honest—initially I thought all 3 were equal, and I thought they were equal because I, too, am a Black and Brown cisgender woman who is always out in the community. I do a lot of community testing in non-traditional places. When I say non-traditional places, I have been invited to someone's house party to sit in a separate room to do testing. I have been invited to a club multiple times, and I have also been mentored by the CEO, Mr. Dwayne Crowder, over at Division for Hope, which runs a lounge that provides a safe space for patrons to come and be tested—it’s called the Sweet Spot. Being able to meet the community where they are is very imperative. It carries a lot of weight.

In addition to that, being able to share my story in the community and looking like those I am trying to educate and make aware of PrEP helps a lot. However, through my fellowship with the American Academy of HIV Medicine, I took on the project of bringing PrEP awareness to social media, and that has proven to go far. I did not realize how many cisgender Black and Brown women are on social media. Social media has been huge. Everything being at our fingertips helps a lot. I will say it initially started out bumpy on social media because I came in with the approach of, "I'm Jaimee, I want to talk about PrEP." I have a 17-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old daughter. My 17-year-old told me, "You have about five to ten seconds before we scroll to the next thing, so you have to come in with the facts." As soon as I started doing that, it picked up traction like none other. Even in the clinic setting, I am able to lean in with my patients. One of the biggest phrases I use in clinic is “Men lie, women lie, numbers don't. One in five new HIV diagnoses are among cisgender Black and Brown women, and of that number, approximately 80% are contracting HIV from their partners—meaning their husbands, long-term boyfriends, or friends with benefits. That speaks volumes, and it is what I have been able to use to be at the forefront of the way I discuss PrEP, HIV, HIV prevention, and why it is very important to protect yourself. A lot of people think that PrEP is not for them. PrEP is for everyone—married, single, celibate, or whatever you consider yourself. HIV is not a respecter of persons. We are all HIV possible.

Pharmacy Times: Your TikTok audience is nearly 8,000 followers, with 79% women. How do you tailor messaging on social media to normalize PrEP conversations for cisgender women when so much HIV prevention content has historically been directed at other populations?

Colvin: That's exactly what I address, because it has been directed at other populations. If you listen to a few of my posts, I am always negating the myth that HIV is an MSM or gay men's disease. Let's be clear — it has never been just an MSM disease. It is not a respecter of persons. A lot of my messaging on social media is men lie, women lie, and numbers don't. Right now, we are leading the race in new diagnoses. It's not that we are leading in cumulative cases—we are leading in new diagnoses. When I say "we," I mean Black and Brown cisgender women. When I start with that, it grabs a lot of attention, because you would not believe how many women across every demographic—18 to 24, 25 to 40—are unaware. I still have patients being diagnosed with HIV in their 60s. The youngest age of diagnosis has been 13. It is happening. When I'm giving lectures, I tell audiences: share this with your little sister, your cousin, your niece—it’s here, it's real, it's happening. Please get the myth out of your mind that this is just an MSM issue, because it is not. It is an everyone issue. Shout out to BWHI, the Black Women's Health Imperative. We are all HIV possible, no matter what.

Pharmacy Times: The program partners with clinic-based providers who identify eligible patients directly—how important is that provider-patient touchpoint in moving women from awareness to actually initiating PrEP, and what role does stigma play in that conversation?

Colvin: Stigma has played a role in everyone's ability to learn about and access HIV prevention and PrEP. It is especially pronounced in women. I have a wonderful gynecologist — shout out to Dr. Tasha Rogers — who is not afraid to lean in and be direct. Women's health centers around gynecology, and gynecology specializes in sexual health and wellness. That is the perfect place to have this discussion. However, those providers in family health, family practice, or general practice — I don't understand, as a provider, why some of us are avoiding this conversation because it feels uncomfortable. We are comfortable discussing cardiovascular health, pulmonary health, and neurological health. Why are we not comfortable discussing sexual health and wellness, especially in the midst of quite the HIV epidemic? It has moved to the forefront of what we are trying to prevent and stop. Yet we still have providers who do not discuss PrEP. We still have providers whose patients are coming in requesting PrEP and being told, "That's not for you," or "You don't need that because you're not out there," or "That's for people who are having sex all over the place." You would be surprised how many stories I hear where it was just one time, with someone they trusted — someone who didn't acquire HIV sexually, but through IV drug use that a spouse or partner was unaware of.

There are all kinds of circumstances surrounding an HIV diagnosis. So if we have the power to prevent it, why don't we? I am one of those providers who is not afraid to share my story. As a care provider, I practice what I preach. I'm not telling you something I have not experienced or am not doing myself. That helps. We have too many providers and too many health care advocates who are not sharing their stories. I say all the time that true ministry, true practice, is transparency. If you can be transparent about your story—whether you are living with HIV or whether you are on PrEP—you would be surprised at how many people it affects, touches, and resonates with. If you can share the conversation about PrEP with just one person, that is enough. As Black and Brown women, we can discuss everything else with our girlfriends over Sunday brunch. Why aren't we discussing this? What's the problem? What is the stigma based around it?

Pharmacy Times: Your data shows steady month-over-month growth in both women tested and women on PrEP. What would it take to scale this model beyond Fulton County, and what infrastructure do other communities need to replicate it?

Colvin: My keyword is intention. We have to be very intentional, present, and willing to push against the discomfort of this discussion. We have to destigmatize speaking about PrEP and destigmatize the fact that cisgender women, regardless of race or creed, are still sexually active. We pride ourselves on the titles we carry — mothers, sisters, friends, aunts, CEOs, executive directors, entrepreneurs, mompreneurs. Whether married, single, dating, or in a friends-with-benefits situation, none of that negates the fact that we still have sexual desires and are still sexually active. Some things you don't want people at work or your children to know, and that alone contributes to internalized stigma — the sense that because we wear so many hats, we are not allowed to be human with human needs. To scale this model, we have to move past that. If you are still feeling stigmatized, grab your girlfriends and let's do it together. I have gone to girls' nights to have this discussion, where women can ask real questions and I can share real statistics. I am part of this demographic — I am over 40, I am a mother of a teenager heading to college and a young child. I wear those same hats. But I would rather you be protected. It is less uncomfortable to ask, "What is your status, have you been tested?" than it is to later say, "You need to go get tested." Scaling also starts with providers. One of my newer initiatives is to engage providers and ask: what is your reservation about having this discussion? Don't make it uncomfortable. Ask, "Are you sexually active? Are you monogamous? Is your partner monogamous? What are you doing for birth control? What are you doing for HIV prevention?" That question can roll off just as easily as any other. If we make it less uncomfortable, it becomes less stigmatized. We also have to address younger women. We are not telling them that it is okay to be in whatever phase of life they are in sexually — and to be smart and protected while doing it. Representation also matters. When people see providers, social workers, influencers, and peers who look like them, it is easier to trust the message. It also helps dismantle medication mistrust. If you can say, "I'm not just telling you this — I'm doing it," it becomes a lot easier.

Fulton County is a hot spot for all STIs, not just HIV. Atlanta is also a community that is openly sexually fluid — people engage in sexual activity across a spectrum of identities and preferences. Because of this, especially among younger generations, people are more forthcoming about discussing sexual health than older generations tend to be. If a patient can come to us and say, "I'm having a discharge," or "I am a sex worker," or "I perform sexual acts on a platform" — if they can be that transparent and open — why are we not reciprocating by discussing HIV prevention and PrEP with them? They are coming to us as openly and honestly as they can. Why are we not meeting them there? We took an oath for health, wellness, and disease prevention as providers. No matter how uncomfortable the conversation, when do we let that go?

Pharmacy Times: Is there anything you would like to add?

Colvin: I am open to being on any platform and getting to where we need to be to address those we need to reach. I am now running an initiative to speak with local megachurches here, and while I am encountering some resistance, I continue pushing forward. Even at a health fair, when I'm asking about blood pressure, cholesterol, or diabetes, there is always a segue into sexual health. Having hypertension and not being adherent to your medication leads to sexual dysfunction in women and a decrease in libido. Sexual health connects to everything, whether people think it does or not. I will continue pushing my initiative, giving PrEP facts, speaking about HIV prevention, and working to bring those numbers down. You can find me on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram at @PrepTalkwithJaimee.