Knowledge and willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men in Northeastern Brazil |
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Authors: | Laio Magno Inês Dourado Cassandra Sutten Coats Daniel Wilhite Luís Augusto V da Silva Oluwadamilola Oni-Orisan |
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Institution: | 1. Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil;2. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil;3. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil;4. Department of Behavioral and Social Health Science, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA;5. Instituto de Humanidades, Artes e Ciências, Salvador, Brazil |
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Abstract: | Few studies evaluate knowledge and willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in middle-income countries. Brazil added PrEP to public drug formularies in December 2017, but little is known about local knowledge and attitudes about PrEP among MSM outside metropolitan areas in Southern Brazil. The cross-sectional HIV Surveillance Survey Project in Brazil estimates HIV and STD prevalence among MSM in 12 state capitals. Among 32 participants at the Salvador, Bahia study site, we used qualitative interviews to assess knowledge, willingness, and barriers to PrEP use among MSM; few MSM had previous knowledge of PrEP and were willing to use PrEP. Clinical, behavioural, social, and structural factors influencing participants’ knowledge and willingness to take PrEP included concerns about efficacy and side effects, access to culturally congruent services for MSM, and stigma. Some participants reported that learning about PrEP online positively influenced their willingness to use PrEP. Participants’ opinions about PrEP’s contribution to risk compensation varied. Interventions to provide culturally congruent care and destigmatise PrEP for MSM at high risk for HIV acquisition, particularly those conducted collaboratively with Brazil’s civil society movement, may enhance the public health effort to expand access to PrEP in Brazil. |
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Keywords: | PrEP men who have sex with men HIV care continuum STD/STI Brazil |
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