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ARE YOU
READY FOR PrEP?
In this online module, you will be guided through the life
of Morgan. This semester, Morgan is taking a Health 101
class for her general education requirements. This week,
her TA is discussing the topic of HIV and prevention,
something Morgan is a little familiar with based on the
ads she has seen on TV and small talk that goes on in her
friend group. Morgan isn’t too afraid, however, she is
sure she knows how to be safe, she’s been careful thus
far, and it’s pretty rare… right?

ARE YOU
READY FOR PrEP?
Today’s topic is a little touchy. It is a little more personal
for me and for a lot of the people I know. It’s much more
loaded than the nutrition and healthy eating we’ve been
covering so far, but today we are talking about HIV. This
will start our series of discussions on sexual and
reproductive health for this section of the course, so you
might want to grab some protection for this one and let’s
get started.

It’s an STD, can’t never get rid of that one…

WHAT IS
HIV?
It’s a sexually transmitted virus that your body cannot
completely rid itself of. It stands for Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. It works by destroying the T cells in the body, which
helps the immune system fight infection.

WHAT IS
HIV?
When the body’s T cells are low, the immune system is
weakened and various infections and other viruses can take
advantage of that and really do damage to your body, resulting
in more complications like AIDS, cancers, and higher risk of… Well, we’ll
get to that
in a sec…

IS
HIV? Before we get there,
what are some of the
crazy things you’ve
heard about catching
HIV?re low, the immune system is
ections and other viruses can take
lly do damage to your body, resulting
e AIDS, cancers, and higher risk of…

I thought someone
told me you couldn’t
get it that way?

S
HIV? Right, Morgan. These are
some crazy myths.
Actually, HIV cannot be
spread that way. In fact,
it can only be spread
through: semen, blood,
vaginal and anal fluids,
and breast milk.

The major ways to transmit HIV are:
• Unprotected anal sex
• Unprotected vaginal sex
• Sharing needles
• Mother-child contact through birth or breast
feeding
WHAT IS
HIV?

Some of the symptoms to know if you potentially have
the virus after you’ve participated in any of these
activities include:
• Flu-like symptoms such as fever, body rash, sore
throat, headache, upset stomach, aches and pains
in joints and muscles, etc.
If left untreated, HIV can
develop into AIDS, an
incurable syndrome that
leads to serious
infection, other diseases,
and potentially death.
WHAT IS
HIV?

Wait, okay okay, so… hypothetically, if you use
condoms every now and again, and you’re in a
monogamous relationship, you should be okay
right?

S
HIV?
Actually, not so. Even in a
monogamous
relationship this is a risk
of infidelity and HIV
transmission…So, in this
hypothetical situation,
it’s still a high risk for a
woman to contract HIV
from her partner, even if
it’s one time. In a
situation with multiple
partners, the risk goes up
drastically.

S
HIV?
The only way to truly
prevent HIV, if celibacy
isn’t in the question for
this person, is to reduce
their number of
partners, use condoms,
dental dams, and other
forms of protection, and
if she thinks she is
affected, then she can
take Post-exposure
prophylaxis up to 72
hours after the incident
to reduce the likelihood
of HIV transmission. It’s
not a cure, but only a
prevention method after
exposure.

PrEP or Pre-Exposure
Prophylaxis, which is a
daily pill used to prevent
HIV before that scary
moment of exposure, is
also a great new option
as well.

I know that was a lot of
information… but I will
be posting a study guide
online for our quiz next
class on this information.
Take a look at it, and
have a good weekend.

After all the students pack up and leave, Morgan stays behind, a little distraught
after the lecture. She walks up to the TA’s desk nervously…

Hey, I had a
question for
you…

What’s the actual likelihood
of someone, say I don’t
know… like me of catching
HIV?

Well, being a black woman,
and college aged, to be
honest, your risk is off the
charts. 81% of 20-24 year
olds were diagnosed with
HIV in 2014, 44% don’t even
know their status. And in
2014 alone, Black
heterosexual women made
up higher rates of HIV than
Black heterosexual men and
had highest rates out of all
women groups.

Oh… well, that’s got to be
different depending on the
location right? Like, the rates
and stuff…

Yeah the statistics reduce or
increase risk depending on
location, that’s just generally
across the country, but,
seeing as though we are in
Atlanta, in the metro area,
ATL ranked number 1 in HIV
cases across the country,
and highest rates in this very
AUC area…

Black women in the city
alone made up 87% of the
HIV cases in Atlanta… It’s
actually an epidemic. I’ve
had several friends from
college get HIV, one of them
just passed recently from
complications after not
taking her medication. Not
to mention, my mom had it,
but luckily with her daily
medication she’s been able
to live 17 years with it.

Yeah, that’s why I’m so
passionate about this stuff,
it’s so close to home. As a
Black man, I want to take
the responsibility of
protecting and honoring my
Black sisters. I think it’s so
important for Black women
to reclaim their value and
take back control of their
health. Our lives are
important, and we need to
stop all the games and start
acting like it. I want to see
you win, sis.

Morgan grew quite…
Morgan are you ok?

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