Melissa completed her PhD at University College London, based in the Research Department for Primary Care and Population Health, part of the Institute for Epidemiology and Health Care.
Melissa's PhD aimed to identify health inequities in the HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) care cascade in high income countries.
HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a powerful biomedical tool for HIV prevention. In England, PrEP has routinely been available from sexual health services since October 2020. Despite accounting for ~20% of new HIV diagnoses in 2022, <2% of PrEP users were women. Her PhD research used complementary qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of PrEP among women in England through an equity lens. To improve equitable access to PrEP, education and awareness campaigns should include women-specific information and clear indications for PrEP candidacy. Addressing HIV stigma, integrating HIV prevention in conversations around sexual health, and expanding PrEP provision outside of sexual health services may help increase the accessibility of PrEP and PrEP information for women.
Her research interests include sexual health, reducing health inequities, HIV and STI prevention, and the development of public health interventions and public health policies. She hopes her research will inform campaigns and interventions to improve the equitable provision of PrEP.
