Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-18-2022
Publication Title
BMJ Open
Keywords
HIV & AIDS; public health; sexual medicine
ISSN
2044-6055
Volume
12
Issue/No.
8
First Page
e063474
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: HIV scholars and practitioners have worked to expand strategies for prevention among marginalised populations who are disproportionately impacted by the epidemic, such as racial minority men who have sex with men (MSM). Given this urgency, the objective of this study was to assess interest in biomedical prevention strategies.
METHODS: This exploratory and cross-sectional study investigated interest in four biomedical prevention tools-rectal douche, dissolvable implant, removable implant and injection-among a racially diverse sample of MSM from the Northeast Corridor region between Philadelphia and Trenton. Data were collected as part of screening for
RESULTS: A total of 381 individuals participated in the screener and provided information about their interest in bio tools. Approximately 26% of participants identified as black, 28% as white and 42% as 'other' or multiracial; 49% identified as Latino. Majority (54%) reported some form of child sexual abuse. Of the participants who reported being in a primary relationship (n=217), two-thirds reported unprotected anal sex within that relationship over the past 90 days (n=138, 64%) and approximately half (n=117, 54%) reported unprotected anal sex outside of the relationship in this period. Majority of participants reported interest in all bio tools assessed, including dissolvable implants (60%), removable implants (64%), rectal douching (79%) and injection (79%). Although interest in bio tools was broadly unassociated with demographics and sexual risk behaviours, analyses revealed significant associations between reports of child sexual abuse and interest in implant and injection methods.
CONCLUSIONS: The authors recommend investing in these prevention methods, particularly rectal douching and injection, as a means of preventing HIV among racial minority MSM. Given the interest in biomedical prevention tools, future studies should explore potential strategies for adherence.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
NSUWorks Citation
Martinez, Omar; Levine, Ethan; Munoz-Laboy, Miguel; Carballo-Diéguez, Alex; Bauermeister, José Arturo; Chacon, Alexi; Jacobson, Jeffrey; Bettiker, Robert; Sutton, Madeline; Rudolph, Abby E.; Wu, Elwin; Rhodes, Scott D.; Tanner, Amanda E.; Mann, Lilli; Valentin, Omar; Ilarraza, Ariel; Pardes, Mariana; Davison, Robin; and Fernandez, Maria Isabel, "More than just oral PrEP: exploring interest in rectal douche, dissolvable implant, removable implant and injection HIV prevention approaches among racially diverse men who have sex with men in the Northeast Corridor." (2022). HPD Articles. 240.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_facarticles/240
DOI
10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063474
Copyright
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022.
Comments
Funding: This work was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a grant from the Minority HIV and AIDS Research Initiative (MARI 1U01PS005124; PI: OM).