ABSTRACT
Men who have sex with men (MSM) who use smartphone applications (apps) to meet sexual partners represent a high-risk subset of MSM. As such, the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may be highly suitable. The purpose of the study was to evaluate awareness of and willingness to use PrEP among 179 HIV-uninfected MSM recruited in London who use these apps. Regression models were fit to assess the associations between perceived barriers and willingness to use PrEP in the future. Most (84.9%) had heard of PrEP and more than half (57.1%) were willing to use PrEP in the future if it were to become available. Low perceived risk for acquiring HIV (prevalence ratio (PR): 0.11; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04, 0.33) and concerns about PrEP-related side effects (PR: 0.01; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.04) were associated with being unwilling to use PrEP. Efforts to make PrEP widely available should be continued. Uptake interventions should focus on correcting self-perceptions of HIV risk and educate MSM about the potential side effects of PrEP use so that MSM can make more informed decisions about prevention options.
Acknowledgements
We thank the participants for their contributions to the project. We thank Daniel Hagen for commenting on an earlier version of this manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
William C. Goedel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2869-1048
Kenneth H. Mayer http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7460-733X
Matthew J. Mimiaga http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9256-2905
Dustin T. Duncan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8586-8711