Black sexual minority men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States are at disparate risk for contracting HIV infection, but pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use is suboptimal. Social network methods were used to recruit a community sample of racial minority MSM and transgender women (TGW) in two Midwestern US cities. 250 PrEP-eligible (HIV-negative) participants completed measures assessing current and intended PrEP use; demographic characteristics; PrEP knowledge, attitudes, norms, stigma, and self-efficacy; and structural barriers to PrEP. Multivariate analyses established predictors of current and intended PrEP use. Only 12% of participants reported currently using PrEP, which was associated with greater PrEP knowledge and not having a main partner, with trends for greater PrEP use by younger participants and those with partners living with HIV. Among participants not currently on PrEP, strength of PrEP use intentions was associated with higher PrEP knowledge, PrEP descriptive social norms, and PrEP use self-efficacy. This study is among few to directly compare Black who have adopted PrEP with those who have not. Its findings underscore the potential benefits of employing social network approaches for strengthening PrEP use peer norms, increasing PrEP knowledge and self-efficacy, and optimizing PrEP uptake among racial minority MSM and TGW.
Keywords: Black men and transgender women who have sex with men; Gay/bisexual men; HIV prevention; PrEP; Pre-exposure prophylaxis.