USPSTF Invites Public Comment on Draft PrEP & HIV Screening Research Plans

This week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force posted three draft research plans on topics related to HIV prevention and screening and is inviting public comment. The three HIV research plans address:

1. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for the prevention of HIV infectionExit Disclaimer
2. HIV infection screening in asymptomatic adolescents and adultsExit Disclaimer
3. HIV infection screening in pregnant womenExit Disclaimer

Each final Research Plan will be used to guide a systematic review of the evidence by researchers at an Evidence-based Practice Center. The resulting Evidence Reviews will form the basis of the USPSTF Recommendation Statement on each topic.

The Task Force believes that soliciting outside input on the draft plan will help to ensure that their final plan and resulting recommendations are valid, reliable, and useful to clinicians, patients, and family members. Interested parties are invited to review the draft research plans above and submit comments using this linkExit Disclaimer through March 22, 2017.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task ForceExit Disclaimer is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine. The Task Force works to improve the health of all Americans by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, counseling services, and preventive medications. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has been authorized by the U.S. Congress to convene the Task Force and to provide ongoing scientific, administrative, and dissemination support to the Task Force.