scholarly journals A qualitative assessment in acceptability and barriers to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among men who have sex with men: implications for service delivery in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Hoang Nguyen ◽  
Huong Lan Thi Nguyen ◽  
Bach Xuan Tran ◽  
Mattias Larsson ◽  
Luis E. C. Rocha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is being considered for implementation among MSM nationwide in Vietnam. However, there may be concerns about potential obstacles for PrEP adherence among Vietnamese MSM. This study aims to assess the acceptability to use PrEP, potential barriers and facilitators, and the preferences for PrEP service accessibility and delivery among Vietnamese MSM. Methods Four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 30 HIV-negative MSM in January 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam. FGDs explored MSM’s awareness regarding PrEP, perceived benefits and barriers of PrEP use, and willingness to use PrEP. FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used. Results The mean age of participants was 23.9 years old. Most participants realized the advantages of PrEP given its efficacy in HIV risk reduction and expressed high motivation and interest to use PrEP in the future. PrEP was considered as a supplement alongside condoms. Common concerns about PrEP included side-effects, forgetting to take the pill daily, stigmatization due to using PrEP, negative attitudes toward PrEP from other MSM and accessibility of PrEP. Participants would prefer an injectable PrEP regime if available as it was seen as easier to adhere to. Concerns were also raised that PrEP usage could be interpreted as an indication of engaging in sexual risk behavior for HIV, potentially causing suspicion in love relationships or by family and friends. Participants preferred to receive PrEP in civil business organizations and MSM-friendly clinics, and recommended that pharmacy stores would not be suitable for PrEP implementation due to lack of trust and fear of fake drugs. Conclusion This study indicated a high level of willingness to use PrEP among MSM in Vietnam in combination with condom. Strategies to raise awareness of PrEP, reduce stigma towards PrEP, and improve the accessibility among MSM in Vietnam is needed. Existing MSM-friendly clinics were recommended to implement PrEP programs in Vietnam.

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e053634
Author(s):  
Simin Yu ◽  
Wendy Cross ◽  
Louisa Lok Yi Lam ◽  
Kaili Zhang ◽  
Biswajit Banik ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo explore willingness and preferred ways to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), factors associated with willingness, and potential barriers to PrEP use among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Changsha, China.DesignA cross-sectional survey was conducted from 25 June to 31 August 2019. Two hundred and fifty-five MSM were recruited from three community-based organisations (CBOs) in Changsha City. Willingness and potential barriers to use PrEP were examined using researcher-created scales. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the factors associated with willingness to use PrEP. P values <0.05 were considered significant.SettingThree MSM inclusive CBOs in Changsha, Hunan Province, China.Participants255 HIV-negative MSM were recruited through their CBOs with snowball sampling.ResultsLess than half of the participants (43.1%) had heard of PrEP and 15.3% were willing to use PrEP. The participants reported higher willingness to use event-driven PrEP (3.70±0.07) than daily PrEP (2.65±0.07). Higher self-rated risk and fear of contracting HIV (OR: 14.47, 95% CI 2.19 to 95.53), awareness of PrEP (OR: 4.20, 95% CI 1.64 to 10.73), sharing one’s own sexual orientation with parents or siblings (OR: 2.52, 95% CI 1.54 to 7.20) and having a university education or above (OR:0.29, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.72) were associated with willingness to use PrEP. Only 12.2% of the sample was concerned about potential barriers to PrEP use.ConclusionEfforts to improve awareness and knowledge of PrEP, teach self-evaluation of HIV infection risk and provide social and emotional support for MSM are needed to scale up PrEP implementation in China.


Sexual Health ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunxing Liu ◽  
Yingying Ding ◽  
Zhen Ning ◽  
Meiyang Gao ◽  
Xing Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a biomedical approach for preventing the acquisition of HIV in populations at substantial risk for HIV. However, its uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM) is low in China. The study aimed to identify factors that might influence MSM’s uptake and use of PrEP. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 self-identified MSM from a PrEP intervention study evaluating daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) to prevent HIV infection. Of these men, 11 were presently using the ‘TDF’ group; 8 from the ‘change-over’ group (i.e. initially used PrEP but subsequently quitted); and 13 from the non-user group. Data were analysed using thematic approach. Results: Perception of low HIV risk, mistrust of the national PrEP program, and concerns of side effects were the main reasons for not wanting to use PrEP. Also, lack of main sexual partner’s support, difficulties in adhering to the daily TDF regimen, and the inconvenient schedules in securing the medicine were the major reasons for not wanting to use or quitting the use of PrEP. On the other hand, perceived high HIV risk, beliefs in efficacy of PrEP, and worries of transmitting HIV to families were the major motives for PrEP uptake. Conclusions: Findings suggest that PrEP implementation strategies should first address issues including but not limited to accurate self-assessment of HIV risk, mistrust and limited knowledge about medical trials and PrEP, and ease of accessing PrEP.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-Wei Zheng ◽  
Jia-Ling Qiu ◽  
Jing Gu ◽  
Hui-Fang Xu ◽  
Wei-Bin Cheng ◽  
...  

Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is not available in China and the willingness to use PrEP among Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) is not clear. The aim of this study was to better understand the association between PrEP comprehension and the willingness to use PrEP under varying conditions among MSM. An online survey investigating personal characteristics, PrEP comprehension, and PrEP willingness among MSM was conducted. A third of respondents (36.2%, 196 out of 541) reported that they would like to use PrEP. Compared with MSM with a basic level of PrEP comprehension, MSM with a high level were more likely to report clear choices: a willingness or unwillingness to use PrEP (82.4% versus 65.7%, p <0.01). Among 350 MSM willing to use PrEP or uncertain about uptake, those with a high level of PrEP comprehension were more likely to use PrEP daily (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.71, 95% confidence interval 1.04–2.80), and to use PrEP with mild or other side effects (AOR = 2.72 or 2.77). A high level of PrEP comprehension is a key factor in urging MSM to use PrEP under varying conditions. Our findings call attention to the need for health education to improve PrEP comprehension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 258-266
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Galka ◽  
Melinda Wang ◽  
Iskandar Azwa ◽  
Britton Gibson ◽  
Sin How Lim ◽  
...  

Sexual Health ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Eaton ◽  
Daniel D. Driffin ◽  
Harlan Smith ◽  
Christopher Conway-Washington ◽  
Denise White ◽  
...  

Objectives In the US, Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) holds tremendous promise for curbing the HIV/AIDS epidemic among these men. However, many psychosocial components must be addressed in order to implement this prevention tool effectively among BMSM. Methods: We assessed PrEP knowledge and use, health care access experiences, race-based medical mistrust, sexual partners and behaviours, and drug and alcohol use among 699 men attending a community event in the south-eastern United States. We used generalised linear modelling to assess factors associated with their willingness to use PrEP. Results: Three hundred and ninety-eight men reported being BMSM and having HIV-negative status. Among these men, 60% reported being willing to use PrEP. Lack of being comfortable with talking to a health care provider about having sex with men, not having discussed having sex with a man with a health care provider, race-based medical mistrust, and alcohol consumption and substance use were all identified as barriers to willingness to use PrEP. Sexual risk-taking, number of sex partners and STI diagnosis were not associated with willingness to use PrEP. Conclusions: Findings from the current paper demonstrate the importance of acknowledging the role of various psychosocial factors in the uptake of PrEP. It is imperative that we prioritise research into understanding these barriers better, as the failure to do so will impede the tremendous potential of this prevention technology.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 21899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Bourne ◽  
Matteo Cassolato ◽  
Clayton Koh Thuan Wei ◽  
Bangyuan Wang ◽  
Joselyn Pang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linwei Wang ◽  
Nasheed Moqueet ◽  
Anna Simkin ◽  
Jesse Knight ◽  
Huiting Ma ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundHIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may change serosorting patterns. We examined the influence of serosorting on the population-level HIV transmission impact of PrEP, and how impact could change if PrEP users stopped serosorting.MethodsWe developed a compartmental HIV transmission model parameterized with bio-behavioural and HIV surveillance data among men who have sex with men in Canada. We separately fit the model with serosorting and without serosorting (random partner-selection proportional to availability by HIV-status (sero-proportionate)), and reproduced stable HIV epidemics (2013-2018) with HIV-prevalence 10.3%-24.8%, undiagnosed fraction 4.9%-15.8%, and treatment coverage 82.5%-88.4%. We simulated PrEP-intervention reaching stable coverage by year-1 and compared absolute difference in relative HIV-incidence reduction 10-year post-intervention (PrEP-impact) between: models with serosorting vs. sero-proportionate mixing; and scenarios in which PrEP users stopped vs. continued serosorting. We examined sensitivity of results to PrEP-effectiveness (44%-99%) and coverage (10%-50%).FindingsModels with serosorting predicted a larger PrEP-impact compared with models with sero-proportionate mixing under all PrEP-effectiveness and coverage assumptions (median (inter-quartile-range): 8.1%(5.5%-11.6%)). PrEP users” stopping serosorting reduced PrEP-impact compared with when PrEP users continued serosorting: reductions in PrEP-impact were minimal (2.1%(1.4%-3.4%)) under high PrEP-effectiveness (86%-99%); however, could be considerable (10.9%(8.2%-14.1%)) under low PrEP effectiveness (44%) and high coverage (30%-50%).InterpretationModels assuming sero-proportionate mixing may underestimate population-level HIV-incidence reductions due to PrEP. PrEP-mediated changes in serosorting could lead to programmatically-important reductions in PrEP-impact under low PrEP-effectiveness (e.g. poor adherence/retention). Our findings suggest the need to monitor sexual mixing patterns to inform PrEP implementation and evaluation.FundingCanadian Institutes of Health ResearchRESEARCH IN CONTEXTEvidence before this studyWe searched PubMed for full-text journal articles published between Jan 1, 2010, and Dec 31, 2017, using the MeSH terms “pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)” and “homosexuality, male” and using key words (“pre-exposure prophylaxis” or “preexposure prophylaxis” or “PrEP”) and (“men who have sex with men” or “MSM”) in titles and abstracts. Search results (520 records) were reviewed to identify publications which examined the population-level HIV transmission impact or population-level cost-effectiveness of PrEP in high-income settings. We identified a total of 18 modelling studies of PrEP impact among men who have sex with men (MSM) and four studies were based on the same model with minor variations (thus only the most recent one was included). Among the 15 unique models of PrEP impact, three included serosorting. A total of nine models have assessed the individual-level behaviour change among those on PrEP and its influence on the transmission impact of PrEP. Specifically, the models examined increases in number of partners and reductions in condom use. Most models predicted that realistic increases in partner number or decreases in condom use would not fully offset, but could weaken, PrEP”s impact on reducing HIV transmission. We did not identify any study that examined the influence of serosorting patterns on the estimated transmission impact of PrEP at the population-level, or what could happen to HIV incidence if the use of PrEP changes serosorting patterns.Added value of this studyWe used a mathematical model of HIV transmission to estimate the influence of serosorting and PrEP-mediated changes in serosorting on the transmission impact of PrEP at the population-level among MSM. We found the impact of PrEP was higher under epidemics with serosorting, compared with comparable epidemics simulated assuming sero-proportionate mixing. Under epidemics with serosorting, when PrEP users stopped serosorting (while other men continue to serosort among themselves) we found a reduced PrEP impact compared with scenarios when PrEP users continued to serosort. The magnitude of reduction in PrEP impact was minimal if PrEP-effectiveness was high; however, could be programmatically-meaningful in the context of low PrEP-effectiveness (e.g., poor adherence or retention) and high PrEP coverage. To our knowledge, our study is the first to directly examine the influence of serosorting and PrEP-mediated changes in serosorting on the transmission impact of PrEP and its underlying mechanism.Implications of all the available evidenceOur findings suggest that models which do not consider baseline patterns of serosorting among MSM could potentially underestimate PrEP impact. In addition to monitoring individual-level behavioural change such as condom use, our findings highlight the need to monitor population-level sexual mixing patterns and their changes over time among MSM in the design and evaluation of PrEP implementation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuansheng Fu ◽  
Akililu Alemu Ashuro ◽  
Xianxiang Feng ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
Sichen Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a key component of HIV combination prevention strategies, which has the potential to decrease the incidence of HIV in men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aimed to evaluate the levels of PrEP acceptability and explore the factors associated with willingness to use PrEP among MSM in Liuzhou, China.Methods: Between November 2017 and May 2019, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 829 MSM. The study participant were recruited through nonprobability sampling method. Participants’ demographics, HIV/AIDS knowledge, sexual behaviors, drug use and HIV test history were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with willingness to use PrEP.Results: A total of 829 MSM completed the survey, and 30.28%(95%CI: 27.3-33.4) were willing to use PrEP. In multivariate logistic regression, factors associated with a higher willingness to use PrEP include, being Zhuang or Han ethnic origin, recruited through peer introduction or gay venues, pursing higher education level, previous HIV testing and having oral sex with a man. However, had a casual sex in the past six months were associated with lower willingness to use PrEP.Conclusions: MSM in Liuzhou reported a relatively low level of willingness to use PrEP. The results indicate the need for effective education, targeted intervention, and define implementation strategies to promote PrEP acceptance among MSM.


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