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Heather Boerner

Heather Boerner is an award-winning journalist who specializes in storytelling on healthcare issues. She's most interested in how people choose between equally important needs.

Articles

Steep But Deceptive Drop in HIV Diagnoses in 2020

HIV diagnoses dropped significantly in the COVID era, but the CDC is not drawing conclusions from that.

Wasting Is Still a Problem for Some People With HIV

Data from 42,000 people with HIV suggest that income and Medicaid coverage play a role in unintentional weight loss.

PrEP blue pills Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

High Drug Copays Leave PrEP Prescriptions Unclaimed

PrEP prescriptions are supposed to be free to users now, which could go a long way toward leveling the HIV-prevention playing field.

Rearview shot of a group of unrecognizable young friends walking with their arms around each other in the city

Leaked SCOTUS Ruling: “We’re Down but by No Means Out of This Fight”

People with HIV, medical societies and women’s health organizations sound off on the SCOTUS draft that proposes to overrule Roe v. Wade.

Some Telehealth Programs Still Charge for HIV Prevention Pills

Telemedicine is an increasingly used to provide convenient PrEP services. But are these programs following U.S. guidelines?

group of older women outside arm in arm smiling

Clinicians Aren’t Talking to Women With HIV About Menopause

Just 1 in 10 eligible menopausal women have used hormone therapy to treat hot flashes and other symptoms.

White House Washington DC USA Wide Angle

Nation’s First Drug Control Strategy Calls for Expanded Harm Reduction

The White House strategy embraces syringe services, access to housing and naloxone as three science-based approaches.

Black Women Prefer HIV Prevention Shots, but Cost Is a Factor

Currently, fewer than 1 in 10 women eligible for HIV prevention medications are taking them.

Hot topics

Nurse applying vaccine on patient's arm using face mask

COVID-19 101

Uterine Fibroids 101

Can Black Women Be Convinced That PrEP Isn’t Just for Gay Men?

A Less Painful Way for Diabetes Patients to Monitor Their Blood Sugar

Tress-Essential Elements

mother daughter talking to doctor smiling

Cancer and Quality of Life: A Special Report

Triumeq Now Available for Small Children

The approval makes this the first single-pill regimen containing dolutegravir available in a water-dispersible formulation.

Multi-ethnic beauty. Different ethnicity women - Caucasian, African, Asian and Indian.

Income May Be the Biggest Determinant of Whether Women Stay on PrEP

An eight-year review of medical records shows that PrEP persistence is associated with higher income and private insurance.

Need HIV/HCV Therapy Plus Drug Use Treatment? Try a Federal Facility

Pickings for concurrent treatment are slim in Ending the HIV Epidemic rural communities.

Given A Choice, Young Women Prefer Vaginal Ring for PrEP

Previous research has shown low rates of use of HIV prevention products, but the tide could be turning.

Apretude and Oral PrEP Could Decrease New HIV Diagnoses by up to Half

However, the benefit would be less evident in Georgia, the state with the highest lifetime risk of acquiring HIV.

Black and Latino People Have a Higher Lifetime Risk of HIV

Nine out of the 10 areas with the highest likelihood of being diagnosed with HIV are located in the South.

Black women Group of Young women having fun together in the street

HIV Prevention Ring Withdrawn From FDA Consideration

The nonprofit that developed the vaginal ring suggests it would be unlikely to get approval in the United States.

Gay friends having a good time at public park

Lack of Access to Resources Makes Black Folks More Vulnerable to HIV

It’s not race itself but the lingering effects of racism and community disinvestment that lead to higher HIV rates among Black people.