Correlates of Awareness of and Willingness to Use Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Use Geosocial-Networking Smartphone Applications in New York City

William C Goedel; Perry N Halkitis; Richard E Greene; Dustin T Duncan

doi:10.1007/s10461-016-1353-6

Correlates of Awareness of and Willingness to Use Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Use Geosocial-Networking Smartphone Applications in New York City

AIDS Behav. 2016 Jul;20(7):1435-42. doi: 10.1007/s10461-016-1353-6.

Authors

William C Goedel^{1

2

3}, Perry N Halkitis^{4

5

6

7

8}, Richard E Greene^{8

9}, Dustin T Duncan^{4

5

6

7

8

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population Health, School of Medicine, New York University, 227 East 30th Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA. william.goedel@nyu.edu.
² College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA. william.goedel@nyu.edu.
³ Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA. william.goedel@nyu.edu.
⁴ Department of Population Health, School of Medicine, New York University, 227 East 30th Street, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
⁵ College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, College of Nursing, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
⁷ Population Center, College of Arts and Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
⁸ Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies, College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ Center for Data Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.

PMID: 26966013
DOI: 10.1007/s10461-016-1353-6

Abstract

Geosocial-networking smartphone applications are commonly used by gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) to meet sexual partners. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate awareness of and willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among MSM who use geosocial-networking smartphone applications residing in New York City. Recruitment utilizing broadcast advertisements on a popular smartphone application for MSM yielded a sample of 152 HIV-uninfected MSM. Multivariable models were used to assess demographic and behavioral correlates of awareness of and willingness to use PrEP. Most participants (85.5 %) had heard about PrEP but few (9.2 %) reported current use. Unwillingness to use PrEP was associated with concerns about side effects (PR = 0.303; 95 % CI 0.130, 0.708; p = 0.006). Given that more than half (57.6 %) of participants were willing to use PrEP, future research is needed to elucidate both individual and structural barriers to PrEP use among MSM.

Keywords: Gay men’s health; Geosocial-networking smartphone applications; Men who have sex with men (MSM); Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Publication types

Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Awareness
Bisexuality / psychology*
HIV Infections / prevention & control*
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Homosexuality, Male / psychology*
Humans
Male
New York City
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis / methods*
Safe Sex
Sexual Partners
Sexual and Gender Minorities / psychology*
Smartphone*
Social Networking*