Issue

According to the CDC, there

were 57 documented cases of
HIV transmission from patient to
healthcare personnel between

1981 and 2010.

Potential Problems and

Limitations

Expensive
Extensive time frame
Limited access to HIV
positive patients
Patients unaware they are
HIV positive
Sample size would need to
be very large with years of
research in order to get
sufficient data
Some may consider study to
be unethical
Subjects must adhere and it

Does the use of pre-exposure prophylactic

antiretroviral treatment, compared to no
prophylactic treatment, reduce the rates of
transmission from patient to personnel in the
healthcare setting?
Approach
April
Greene
Quantitative study
Experiment/clinical trial: control
Implications and
group is given PrEP;
comparison group is not.
Importance of Research
Randomized selection of a
Outcome goal is to determine if
variety of different healthcare
by providing PrEP to healthcare
personnel
providers in high risk
populations, transmission can be
reduced, in turn, greatly reducing
healthcare expenditure. If
successful, transmission from
patient to provider could
potentially be eliminated
completely.

Need for Research

Although, HIV transmission rates
between patients and healthcare
professionals are fairly low,
transmission and diagnosis can
be detrimental to any individual.