Opinion: The newest tool to prevent STIs is not available to everyone: A call for participatory and inclusive research
In the midst of an “out of control” epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, a newly recommended tool for preventing these infections has emerged. Sadly, this novel prevention strategy is not yet available to everyone who might benefit from it due to the insufficiently participatory and inclusive nature of the research used to study it.
In June 2024, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released eagerly awaited clinical guidelines for a strategy that significantly reduces the risk of sexually transmitted infections. These guidelines advise health care providers to counsel cisgender men (cisgender is when one’s current gender identity is the same as their assigned sex at birth) and transgender women who have sex with men about using doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy PEP) if they have had a bacterial STI in the past year.
