How interested are men in PrEP?
STOP AIDS Project
A Program Of
Posted by Anonymous, Friday, April 8, 2011 5:26 PM | Comments (1)
In November, the iPrEx study released results showing a 44% reduction in HIV risk when HIV negative men took a low-level, daily dose of a specific HIV medication. This prevention method, known as PrEP, is getting a great deal of media attention.
STOP AIDS held a Town Hall meeting to discuss the iPrex study results with the community.Then we took to the streets to find out how gay, bi and trans men were reacting to the news, to see how many men were interested in taking PrEP, and how many were already taking it. Here’s what the 61 HIV negative men we interviewed told us:
Seven guys said that they had already used PrEP. When asked where they got it, they told us: four were in a clinical study; one got it from a doctor/nurse; and two declined to state.
Also of interest: While 15% of men at a lower risk for HIV said they were interested in PrEP, 61% of men with multiple unprotected sex partners said they were likely, or very likely, to use PrEP in the future.
What we make of this information
Conversations about PrEP throughout the country are centering around a number of questions. Most importantly, are people going to use it? The iPrex study results will mean little if people don't want to take the medication. Our small survey suggests that a relatively small percentage think they would use it in the future.
However, if the people who are most interested in using PrEP are also those most at risk for HIV, PrEP may yet find its place in ending this epidemic among gay, bi, and trans men in the US.
Stay tuned for more information on this and related topics…
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Good article and interesting
Good article and interesting study. I am trying to understand why people would take a pill that only gives protectiion to 44%. What happens if you are the other 56%? Which obviously most peope are going to be in the later group. I feel that could possibly be the reason for such a low reaction of people wanting to take the medication.
It would compare to a heart medication that only works for 44 out of 100 people. Not such a great rate of return. But they are showing great progress.
Please help me out to understand if I am not correct.