# Telemedicine for PrEP throughout Mississippi (Tele-PrEP-MS)

> **NIH NIH R34** · RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL · 2020 · $236,108

## Abstract

Project Title: Telemedicine for PrEP throughout Mississippi (Tele-Prep-MS)
 Uptake of PrEP in the southern United States has been slow, especially in areas distant from academic
medical centers that provide PrEP care. Despite underserved populations in the South having alarmingly high
rates of HIV, a large percentage of at-risk individuals are not engaged in PrEP care due to limited access to
academic medical centers. Mississippi (MS), the site of this proposed project, has the seventh highest
incidence of HIV of any state and CBOs that provide HIV/STI testing outside of urban areas report that very
few of their at-risk individuals use PrEP. Unfortunately, physicians outside of academic centers are often
reluctant to prescribe PrEP because they lack the expertise, training, and the support necessary to provide
comprehensive HIV prevention care. Those who are at-risk do not seek PrEP from academic centers because
of stigma, travel burdens, and financial concerns. To overcome these barriers, this project will develop and
pilot test a program to deliver PrEP care in underserved remote communities in MS through telemedicine
clinical care delivered in local CBOs. Telemedicine will allow specialists to provide care at a distance and while
simultaneously enhancing the capacity of local CBOs to provide quality HIV testing and counseling, PrEP
treatment, and linkage to HIV care if needed. It will allow patients to receive the highest level of medical care
from trusted CBOs within their local communities. It will also enhance the CBO's mission by allowing it to
provide a new, high-quality medical service.
 The specific aims of this project are to:
 1. Develop a PrEP telemedicine program for CBOs that provide HIV/STI testing. The program, to be
 called Tele-PrEP-MS, will be developed through a collaborative development approach with University
 of Mississippi Medical Center specialists and local stakeholders (CBO agency staff, administrators and
patients).
 2. Implement Tele-PrEP-MS in two CBOs that conduct HIV testing for underserved areas in MS.
 3. Determine the acceptability and feasibility of Tele-PrEP-MS, and examine the individual,
 organizational and structural factors associated with its acceptability and feasibility. This aim
 uses a mixed methods approach that includes in-depth interviews of stakeholders (patients, staff, and
 administrators) and an online survey of 300 patients.
 4. Examine PrEP-related outcomes (proportions screened for PrEP eligibility, attending a PrEP medical
 evaluation, accepting a PrEP prescription, beginning and adhering to PrEP) to compare the academic
 medical center and the CBOs, and also to examine any factors related to these outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9928108
- **Project number:** 5R34MH115744-03
- **Recipient organization:** RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** LARRY K BROWN
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $236,108
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-20 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9928108

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9928108, Telemedicine for PrEP throughout Mississippi (Tele-PrEP-MS) (5R34MH115744-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9928108. Licensed CC0.

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