Perspectives and Factors Related to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Use Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Role of History of PrEP Use.
Junye Ma, Zach Soberano, Bryce F Stamp and 6 others
PMID 39208418WHAT IT FOUND
Young men who had never used PrEP more often worried than past users about discussing sex with a provider, returning for labs, family finding out, and being seen as HIV-positive.
Nurses can expect these concerns when counseling young men about PrEP.
Key findings
01Among young men who had never used PrEP, 41.4% considered talking to a healthcare provider about sex and PrEP important, compared with 20.0% of those who had ever used PrEP; 40.0% considered returning for PrEP follow-up appointments and labs important, compared with 20.0%.
02Young men who had never used PrEP more often considered family finding out important (47.1% vs 18.0%), friends finding out important (17.1% vs 2.0%), and people assuming they were HIV-positive important (22.9% vs 6.0%).
03Among 50 participants who had ever used PrEP, the most reported reason for starting was wanting to be in control of sexual health (34.7%; n = 17); among 17 past users, the most reported reason for stopping was not wanting to take a pill every day (41.2%; n = 7).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited mainly through social media, so men who do not engage with online LGBTQ content may be missing. The sample was mostly college-educated, mostly gay, and only cisgender men, so it may not represent all young men who have sex with men. Focus groups included 21 participants, which is small. Survey responses were grouped into important or not important because some response categories were small. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that these concerns cause PrEP non-use.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The publication types list NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that addressing provider concerns, stigma, or cost will increase PrEP use. This study described perspectives and associations; it did not test an intervention or establish cause.