Preferences for Long-Acting Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Daily Oral PrEP, or Condoms for HIV Prevention Among U.S. Men Who Have Sex with Men

Abstract

HIV prevention method preferences were evaluated among 512 U.S. men who have sex with men (MSM; median age: 22 years). Approximately 90 % consistently preferred one option across pairwise comparisons of condoms, daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and long-acting PrEP delivered via either an injectable or one of two types of PrEP implants differing in visibility. Condoms were most frequently preferred (33.8 %), followed by non-visible implants (21.5 %), and oral PrEP (17.0 %); HIV risk was reported by more choosing implants. In a follow-up question comparing the four PrEP options only, daily oral pills and non-visible implants were most frequently preferred (35.5 and 34.3 %, respectively), followed by injections (25.2 %) and visible implants (4.3 %). An inductive, open-coding approach determined that convenience, duration of protection, and privacy were the most commonly cited reasons for a PrEP method choice, and associated with self-report of HIV risk. Tailoring PrEP product development to privacy and other concerns important to those at highest HIV risk may improve HIV prevention.

Keywords: HIV; Homosexuality; Male; Pre-exposure prophylaxis; Prevention; Sexual behavior.

Figures

Figure 1

Rates of condomless anal sex (CAS) by preferred HIV prevention method among the total sample, men reporting not being in a relationship (NREL, n = 311), and men reporting being in a relationship (REL, n = 199)a aTwo participants did not report relationship status.