Young gay men lack knowledge and awareness regarding the use of PrEP, a drug that stops them from contracting HIV, according to a study published in the Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion. The authors from the University of Bath, UK, suggest that more needs to be done to break down barriers to access the lifesaving medication.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP is a pill that prevents the contraction of HIV. It is usually prescribed to people at risk of contracting HIV; it can be taken as a daily pill or on-demand a day before and for two days after having sex with somebody with HIV. When taken correctly, it is 99% effective at preventing HIV transmission. Since March 2020, it’s available free on the NHS.
Despite their higher risk of contracting HIV, the use of PrEP among young gay men is low in the UK. A team of researchers from the University of Bath interviwed a small sample of men aged 18 to 22 years old to find out the reasons.
The results show that many men don’t really understand how PrEP works, don’t see the need to take it, or feel uncomfortable asking for the drug at the pharmacy or their doctor. Some believe screening is enough, without considering that they could contract HIV in between testing.
Anonymous responses highlight these specific issues:
“I always just engaged in safe sex, so it’s like, do I need this added preventative measure if I’m already sort of like I’m doing what I should be doing?”
“I didn’t know if I really needed it, like there wasn’t really advertisements or like actual people or like poster advertisements telling me that I probably need PrEP.”
“Being in person with them and they say something awkward, and you just have to sort of sit there and then leave awkwardly, it’s a lot more intense.”
This work backs up a recent government review suggesting that a large proportion of young men who should be taking PrEP are not. The authors suggest that more should be done to increase access to the drug, such as new online services and increased education.
“Given the roll-out of PrEP, we were keen to gather views from one of the more at-risk groups (and most targeted group for PrEP uptake), young men who have sex with men,” said Dr Richard Hamshaw from the University of Bath’s Department of Psychology. “Carrying out in-depth interviews meant our participants could share their stories and experiences with us, and we were able to build a more detailed picture as to why some people might not use PrEP. We hope that our paper sheds further light on barriers to PrEP uptake and hope to explore this further in future projects.”
“I started researching PrEP uptake after I noticed a worrying number of my LGBT+ friends were relatively unaware of the drug. Following this study, we propose enhancing such awareness by promoting stories from PrEP users about its consumption and benefits, coupled with integrating PrEP discussions into sex education in schools,” added first author Loukas Haggipavlou. “To further increase uptake amongst young men who have sex with men, we also recommend the implementation of new online services for PrEP acquisition, to simplify the process, destigmatise and increase access.”
Haggipavlou, L., & Hamshaw, R. J. T. (2023). Barriers to PrEP Uptake in Young U.K. Men Who Have Sex With Men. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 4(3-4), 404-433. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770231199419