The Effect of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Implementation on the Spread of Syphilis: Evidence from Brazil
Abstract: This study investigates the effect of offering Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV, as a public policy, on the spread of syphilis through behavioral changes on the willingness to engage on riskier sex behavior (i.e. condomless sex). To explore such phenomena, a Difference in Differences method is applied to groups of municipalities in the southeastern region of Brazil. No significant effect was found after restricting the sample to approximate the underlying characteristics of the groups. The results do not support the findings of the previous studies, performed on smaller target groups, nor contradict them. The inconclusiveness of the results is likely due to, amongst other factors, the small number of individuals both taking PrEP or diagnosed with syphilis, compared to the general population of the municipalities.
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