This week, Waverley Care launched new video resources for healthcare professionals on navigating conversations around HIV testing and PrEP with people from minority ethnic communities.
In the UK, HIV disproportionately affects people from Minority Ethnic backgrounds, especially those of Black-African heritage. This disparity is evident through higher rates of late HIV diagnosis and lower uptake of PrEP seen within these communities compared to their White-British or -Scottish counterparts.
One of the main challenges healthcare professionals, especially those working in sexual health services, face when discussing HIV testing and PrEP with people from minority ethnic communities is fear of causing offence and creating distrust in sexual health services.
Ese Johnson, Development Manager for Minority Ethnic HealthThe idea for educational video resources came from the extensive conversations with clinicians on the challenges they face when discussing HIV and PrEP during sexual health consultations. We also held workshops with the community members to understand how they would like these conversations to go when accessing sexual health services, which helped dictate the scenarios presented in these videos.
Our video resources were developed with support from Greater Glasgow and Clyde clinicians and community members.
Dr Lindsay Henderson, Sexual Health Clinician NHS GGCAs a clinician taking part in producing these videos, I think there were a few very important learning points for healthcare professionals. The first one being just how important it is that we remember to always ask a patient how they'd like us to address them. That can really help to build respectful doctor-patient relationship, establish rapport and put patient at ease.
Watch our video resources below, showcasing two distinct scenarios where a clinician engages in discussions about HIV testing and PrEP during a sexual health consultation. These videos aim to assist healthcare professionals in navigating culturally sensitive conversations with individuals from ethnic minority communities and encourage community members to access HIV testing and PrEP.