Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis
(PrEP) with antiretroviral (ARV) tablets and topical PrEP or microbicides containing
ARV drugs could help to reduce HIV incidence. These methods hold promise for
men who have sex with men (MSM) who are at higher risk of acquiring HIV.
This
mixed-methods study in the Netherlands explored perceptions of MSM and their
willingness to use oral PrEP and rectal microbicides (RM) if made available.
Recruited through social media (Facebook and Twitter), 108 MSM completed online
questionnaires. Seven of them consented to discuss the survey results in
semi-structured interviews.
Survey participants preferred a RM that could be
applied before and after anal intercourse (60.8%) to daily oral PrEP (20.3%).
This preference was based on anticipated user friendliness, hypothetically
fewer expected adverse events, and perceptions that RM would be less likely to
be confused with ARVs for treatment.
Those who preferred oral PrEP had stronger
beliefs in the effectiveness of pills, perceived its use as easy, and viewed
not requiring sexual partner awareness as advantages. No predictive factors
were found for the choice of one prevention method over the other. Although
Dutch MSM perceive both oral and topical PrEP positively, many barriers exist
to the introduction of these products in the Netherlands. These include lack of
regulatory approval of oral PrEP, no proven efficacy as yet for RM, and strong
HIV stigma within the MSM population.
In-depth qualitative research is needed
to further explore the perceptions of MSM to inform implementation of
programmes should these HIV prevention methods become available.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/gyEuv1
By:
- 1a Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Centre , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
- 2b London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
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