Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS), University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 13;17(6):e0269688. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269688. eCollection 2022.
HIV infections disproportionately impact Latino gay and bisexual men (GBM) in the United States. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a proven prevention strategy that can help reduce new HIV infections in this population. Unfortunately, PrEP adoption and persistence among Latino GBM remain low. The added benefits of using PrEP experienced by Latino GBM can provide important insights to inform the development of PrEP messaging to motivate this population to explore and consider PrEP as an appropriate and acceptable HIV prevention tool.
We conducted in-depth interviews with Latino GBM PrEP users to explore positive feelings and emotions, and additional benefits gained from using PrEP. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
A total of 29 Latino GBM completed the study interview. The average age of participants was 30 years, and the mean length of time using PrEP was 17.1 months. Five themes were constructed from the data representing the additional benefits gained by Latino GBM PrEP users, and included: (1) reduced fear, anxiety, and stress about HIV, HIV testing, and sex; (2) feeling empowered and in control of their HIV risk; (3) greater awareness of sexual risk behaviors and sexual health; (4) greater sexual exploration and pleasure, and comfort having condomless sex; and (5) a greater connection to community and a feeling of contributing to the elimination of HIV.
The added benefits identified in this study represent a range of social, emotional, and psychological benefits that Latino GBM experience while using PrEP. They speak to the complementary benefits that PrEP can bring to Latino GBM who decide to use the medication, that go beyond HIV prevention. These findings can inform the development of future PrEP messaging to help improve motivation for PrEP uptake and persistent use among Latino GBM.
艾滋病毒感染在美国不成比例地影响着拉丁裔男同性恋和双性恋者（GBM）。暴露前预防（PrEP）是一种经过验证的预防策略，可以帮助减少这一人群中的新艾滋病毒感染。不幸的是，拉丁裔 GBM 中 PrEP 的采用和持续使用仍然很低。拉丁裔 GBM 体验到的使用 PrEP 的额外好处可以为制定 PrEP 信息传递提供重要见解，以激励这一人群探索并考虑将 PrEP 作为一种适当和可接受的艾滋病毒预防工具。
我们对拉丁裔 GBM PrEP 用户进行了深入访谈，以探讨他们使用 PrEP 后的积极感受和情绪以及获得的额外好处。数据采用主题分析进行分析。
共有 29 名拉丁裔 GBM 完成了研究访谈。参与者的平均年龄为 30 岁，使用 PrEP 的平均时间为 17.1 个月。从数据中构建了五个主题，代表了拉丁裔 GBM PrEP 用户获得的额外好处，包括：（1）减少对艾滋病毒、艾滋病毒检测和性行为的恐惧、焦虑和压力；（2）感到有能力和控制自己的艾滋病毒风险；（3）提高对性风险行为和性健康的认识；（4）更多的性探索和愉悦，以及无保护性行为的舒适感；（5）与社区的更紧密联系和为消除艾滋病毒做出贡献的感觉。
本研究确定的额外好处代表了拉丁裔 GBM 在使用 PrEP 时所经历的一系列社会、情感和心理方面的好处。它们说明了 PrEP 可以为决定使用该药物的拉丁裔 GBM 带来的补充好处，而不仅仅是预防艾滋病毒。这些发现可以为未来 PrEP 信息传递的制定提供信息，以帮助提高拉丁裔 GBM 对 PrEP 的采用和持续使用的积极性。
