Health in Her Hue has partnered with ViiV Healthcare to highlight the disproportionate impact of HIV on Black women and girls and how we talk about HIV and prevention. Learn more about your options for HIV testing and prevention – available here. Sponsored by ViiV Healthcare.

No matter what stage of life we’re in, our sexual health is a key part of our overall health and wellness. Just like checking blood pressure or listening to the heartbeat, our doctors should make a point of regularly discussing our sexual health with us and should make sure to comprehensively cover the information we need to make decisions about everything related to sexual health, including HIV and other sexually transmitted illnesses. 

Unfortunately, providers sometimes fail to routinely or effectively discuss HIV with their female patients, which is particularly problematic for Black women, as we make up 54% of new HIV diagnoses among cisgender women and 45% of new diagnoses among transgender women. It’s important that we feel comfortable having open and honest conversations with our providers and that we trust them to share the information we need to know to stay informed. 

If your doctor is not having necessary conversations with you about your sexual health, it might be time to review your care team and consider making a change. You can use resources like ViiV Healthcare’s Risk To Reasons Activity Book and Health in Her HUE to help you figure out what questions to ask and steps to take when considering a change of provider. Below are some highlights from both of these resources to help you make informed decisions.

Any assessment of your provider or care team should start with considering these key questions: 

1. Does your provider take the time to ask you questions that are specific to your circumstances and listen to your answers? 
2. Do you feel comfortable being honest with your provider? Why or why not? 
3. Do you feel like your provider has opinions or ideas that make you feel uncomfortable? 
4. Does your provider give you new information or help you discover new things about yourself and your health? 
5. Is there anything about the provider’s office, process, or environment that makes you feel uncomfortable? If so, what? 

The answers to these questions should help you determine if you want to continue to invest in your relationship with your doctor or keep it moving and find a new provider. If you choose to pursue another partner in your health, here are some tips on finding a provider: 

• Ask for recommendations, especially from people you know who might have similar needs or expectations of a provider (or who just have a provider they really like).

• Use Health in Her HUE’s provider directory and read about best practices for identifying a provider near you. 

• Call the office and ask the front desk how the provider likes to get to know a new patient (hint, they should have a good answer).

• Don’t wait until it’s an emergency. Give yourself enough time to pick the person that is right for you.

• Be patient and gentle with yourself – this is a process and it takes time to explore.

• Ask practical questions. For example: 
  • Can I get all my women’s screenings here? 
  • What’s the wait time for an appointment? 
  • Do they offer telephone or video appointments as well as face-to-face?

You have the right to have standards for your healthcare and to hold your provider accountable to meeting your expectations. It is worth investing the time and effort toward prioritizing yourself and your sexual health by assessing the quality of the care your providers are offering and seeking alternative options as needed. Use available resources like Health in Her HUE and ViiV Healthcare’s Risk to Reasons Activity Books to help review your healthcare experiences from an informed place. Above all else, remember that you have the power to advocate for your health and wellness.