Currently submitted to: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Mar 14, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 15, 2024 - May 10, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
NOTE: This is an unreviewed Preprint
Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint (What is a preprint?). Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn (a note "no longer under consideration" will appear above).
Peer-review me: Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period (in this case, a "Peer-Review Me" button to sign up as reviewer is displayed above). All preprints currently open for review are listed here. Outside of the formal open peer-review period we encourage you to tweet about the preprint.
Citation: Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author).
Final version: If our system detects a final peer-reviewed "version of record" (VoR) published in any journal, a link to that VoR will appear below. Readers are then encourage to cite the VoR instead of this preprint.
Settings: If you are the author, you can login and change the preprint display settings, but the preprint URL/DOI is supposed to be stable and citable, so it should not be removed once posted.
Submit: To post your own preprint, simply submit to any JMIR journal, and choose the appropriate settings to expose your submitted version as preprint.
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Generational Differences in Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Intentions among Men Who Have Sex with Men: A National Study on Sexual Behaviors and Preventive Practices
ABSTRACT
Background:
Background:
In Brazil, Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, mirroring global trends. Despite advancements in HIV prevention, such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), uptake among different MSM age groups remains uneven, influenced by diverse sexual behaviors, risk perceptions, and social stigmas.
Objective:
Objectives: To investigate factors associated with PrEP intentions among Brazilian MSM of different age groups.
Methods:
Method: A cross-sectional electronic survey involving Brazilian MSM aged 18 years and above.
Results:
Results:
PrEP intentions were expressed by over half of the participants, 55.1%. Regarding protective knowledge and PrEP intentions, among those under 25 years, frequent barebacking was associated with a 25.4 times higher prevalence of PrEP intentions. Conversely, having one or more casual sexual partners in the last 30 days was associated with a 22% lower frequency of PrEP intentions. The practice of chemsex was also associated with a lower prevalence of PrEP intentions. In the age group of 25-49 years, it was observed that the practice of double penetration was associated with a higher prevalence of PrEP intentions, as well as being a receptive or versatile partner. Still within this age range, the prevalence of PrEP intentions was over 10% among those who exhibited some unique characteristics, such as a previous diagnosis of syphilis and non-use of condoms due to the intensity of sex or when sexual partners are known. However, being single, the partner's PrEP use, and gouinage, as an HIV/AIDS prevention practice, were exclusively associated with lower prevalences of PrEP intentions. Regarding MSMs aged ≥50 years, a higher prevalence of PrEP intentions was associated with the practice of double penetration, as well as being a receptive or versatile partner. On the other hand, chemsex practice was associated with a lower prevalence of PrEP intentions. Group sex practice was independently associated with a lower prevalence of PrEP intentions exclusively among MSMs aged ≥50 years.
Conclusions:
Conclusion: The study highlights significant generational differences in the factors influencing PrEP intentions among Brazilian MSM. It underscores the need for tailored HIV prevention strategies that consider the unique behaviors and perceptions of different age groups. By addressing these nuances, public health initiatives can better promote PrEP use, catering to the diverse needs of the MSM community and contributing effectively to the reduction of HIV infection rates.
Citation
The author of this paper has made a PDF available, but requires the user to login, or create an account.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.