Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Social Lives of HIV Prevention Drugs

自从上市以来，暴露前预防(PrEP)改变了艾滋病毒预防领域的面貌。研究证明，PrEP是一种每天一次的药丸，由传统的抗逆转录病毒药物组成，用于预防使用，在降低个体感染艾滋病毒的风险方面非常有效。虽然研究已经证明了PrEP的治疗效果，但这场治疗革命在不同群体和人群中的社会影响仍未得到充分研究。该奖项支持的研究使用人种学方法来调查不同的人群和个人如何使用PrEP，询问这种药物的使用如何影响个人的做法以及对风险的感知。该项目除了为人类学研究生提供经验、科学数据收集和分析方法方面的培训提供资金外，还将加强对艾滋病毒预防战略和治疗的社会影响的科学了解。这项研究将在16个月的时间内进行，通过生产和销售国家制造的仿制药，PrEP已被广泛获得。这位研究人员将在四个不同的社区环境中工作：艾滋病毒政策研究所、私人诊所、社区组织，以及对当地经济具有重要意义的一些商业和活动场所。数据将通过参与者观察；对卫生政策制定者、医生、社区组织者、PrEP用户和其他利益相关者的访谈；以及来自不同人口群体的焦点群体和PrEP用户的生活史来收集。这项研究的结果将产生政策制定者、公共卫生从业者和社会科学家所需的多角度数据，以了解影响这些新型疗法获得和更广泛体验的因素。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Since its arrival to the market, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has transformed the field of HIV prevention. A once a day pill composed of conventional antiretrovirals repurposed for preventative use, research has proven PrEP to be highly effective in reducing individual risk of HIV infection. While studies have demonstrated PrEP’s therapeutic efficacy, the social effects of this therapeutic revolution across different groups and populations remains understudied. The research supported by this award uses ethnographic methods to investigate how different populations and individuals use PrEP, asking how the use of this drug effects individual practices, as well as perceptions of risk. In addition to providing funding for the training of a graduate student in anthropology in the methods of empirical, scientific data collection and analysis, the project will enhance scientific understandings of the social effects of HIV prevention strategies and therapies. The research will take place over 16 months in a context where PrEP has been made widely available through the production and distribution of a state manufactured generic. The researcher will work across four different community settings: a HIV policy institute, a private clinic, a community organization, and a selection of commercial and event venues that are significant to the local economy. Data will be collected through participant observation; interviews with health policy makers, doctors, community organizers, PrEP users, and other stakeholders; and focus groups and life histories of PrEP users from different population groups. Findings from this research will produce multi-perspective data needed by policy makers, public health practitioners, and social scientists to understand the factors that condition both access to and the broader experiences of these novel forms of therapy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.