These comprehensive workbooks guides nurses new and transitioning to general practice or aged care through key components of these areas of nursing, and will ensure a thorough understanding of the many facets of these primary health care settings.
Learning on the go with APNA online learning
Primary health care is any medical service that is provided outside the four walls of a hospital, including aged care, community health, general practice, custodial, schools and many other primary health care settings. Australia's 98,000+ primary health care nurses play a critical role in disease prevention and control to keep people healthy. They provide proactive care and health promotion to keep Australians well.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
In Australia, there are approximately 30,000 people living with HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a preventative medicine for people at risk of acquiring the virus. Primary health care nurses are well placed to identify and advise patients who might benefit from PrEP. Join the mission to end HIV transmission!
While we’ve made fantastic progress in the fight against HIV, there are still too many people being newly diagnosed each year. According to the latest data from the Kirby Institute released in September 2025, there were 757 HIV diagnoses in Australia in 2024, which is a 27% decline over the last decade.1
However, almost one-third of these HIV diagnoses are considered ‘late’, that is, the person may have been living with HIV for four or more years. Among heterosexual people diagnosed with HIV – who account for 27% of all notifications – 51% were classified as late. This can lead to health implications for the individual, as well as increased risk of transmission if people are unaware of their status.
Despite our great progress towards eliminating HIV transmission in Australia, there is still plenty of work to do. Every one of those 757 new diagnoses represents a person with a life-changing and lifelong chronic health condition – and with the tools we now have available, a completely preventable one.
Much of the great progress we’ve made in halting HIV transmission is thanks to the many groundbreaking prevention tools we have at our disposal, in addition to traditional prevention methods, such as condoms.
HIV antiretroviral treatment has made a huge impact. People living with HIV who are on effective treatment will become ‘undetectable’, which means they cannot pass on the virus sexually to partners regardless of HIV status. This is referred to as ‘undetectable=untransmittable’ or ‘U=U’.
Another tool is PrEP, which acts as a preventative medicine for people who are not living with HIV. It stops them acquiring HIV if they have sex with a partner who is living with HIV, even if their viral load is detectable.
In Australia, PrEP is primarily taken as an oral medication. People can either take oral PrEP once a day for consistent protection, or it can be taken ‘on-demand’ if people know they are only going to be at risk of HIV acquisition at certain times. Internationally, PrEP is also available as an injectable or vaginal ring – providing even greater choice for people in how they manage their HIV risk.
While PrEP must be prescribed by a GP or nurse practitioner, much of the important work comes before the actual prescription. We encourage the whole healthcare team to be on the lookout for patients who might be a good fit for PrEP. When a potential patient is identified, provide information on how PrEP works and why it could work for them.
Primary health care nurses are extremely well-placed for this work. Much of the time, nurses are well-connected with patients and will have good opportunities to have these conversations.
First, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the eligibility criteria for starting PrEP.
Importantly, anyone who comes into the clinic asking for PrEP should be considered. If someone is actively asking for PrEP, it is likely they’ve done a self-assessment of their HIV risk and are asking for a good reason.
Otherwise, groups to consider include: gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men; trans and gender-diverse people; and heterosexual people who have sex with people who might be at increased risk of HIV.
Rather than asking people what group they fit into, though, it’s better to focus on behaviours. Try asking a patient who their sexual partners are, rather than how they identify. This can increase opportunities to discuss PrEP with those who might need it.
For example, a male patient might identify as heterosexual, but might, on occasion, have sex with other men or with someone who may share injecting equipment with other people. This patient may benefit from PrEP, while not identifying as belonging to a priority group.
As noted above, nurses are well placed to have conversations about PrEP. While it can be difficult and there may never be a perfect time, it’s important to identify some common opportunities. Many patients may not know about PrEP or their HIV risk, while others may not have regular contact with health services.
Some examples of when you might bring up PrEP include when someone requests a sexually transmitted infection (STI) test, during contraception consultations, if your patient is a young person who may just be becoming sexually active, or if someone is travelling to a country with high HIV prevalence. Other factors to consider are if someone has expressed anxiety about HIV or STIs, or if they’ve previously required HIV post-exposure prophylaxis.
If you’re ready to join the mission to end HIV transmission, ASHM has just launched a new campaign taking you through what you need to know about PrEP. You can find out more at ashm.org.au/prep/.
You can add APNA-Member Professional Indemnity Insurance to your membership, when you join APNA.
