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Awareness of and Willingness to Use On-Demand HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Using a Gay Social Networking App in China

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: To the Editor: P re-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising bio- medical intervention for HIV prevention that could reduce the risk of getting HIV through sex by up to 99% when taken as prescribed. 1 To maximize benefit and provide alternative prevention options matching an individual's HIV risk profile, researchers investigated on-demand dosing PrEP (on-demand PrEP) for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) who have intermittent exposures, also known as intermittent or event-drive PrEP.On-demand PrEP uses a ''2-1-1'' schedule, which means individuals take two pills up to 24 h before sex, one pill 24 h after the first two pills, and another pill 24 h after the second dose.Recently, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated the clinical PrEP guidelines and recommended ondemand PrEP to GBMSM who had infrequent sexual exposures.2 Indeed, on-demand PrEP offers flexibility to match individuals' unique needs and is considered cost-effective when scaled up at the population level.3 In China, GBMSM are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic.4 However, it was not until late 2020 that the National Medical Products Administration approved oral PrEP (Truvada) as an HIV prevention tool for people at risk for acquiring HIV, 5 and there is no official guidance for clinical practice in China yet.Previous research on PrEP among Chinese GBMSM has mainly focused on daily oral PrEP, and currently very limited information on awareness of and willingness to use on-demand PrEP is available.Two existing studies conducted in southwest China suggested that the awareness of on-demand PrEP in this area was only about 30%.6,7 Neither of these studies explored factors associated

Source: AIDS Patient Care and STDs

DOI: 10.1089/apc.2023.0004