Injectable PrEP Options May Help Reach Racial Minority MSM

An injectable option for HIV prevention is preferred among some marginalized populations, including racial minority men who have sex with men (MSM), according to new data presented at the American Public Health Association 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo.

Because marginalized populations are disproportionally affected by HIV, the researchers aimed to better understand which HIV prevention methods are most interesting to racial minority MSM.

From 2017 to 2018, the researchers conducted the Connecting Latinos en Pareja, which was a couples-based HIV-prevention intervention for Latino MSM and their partners based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey. 

Overall, 300 men were screened for their interest in using 4 biomedical HIV-prevention tools, including a rectal douche, a dissolvable implant, a removable implant, and an injection.

Of the 300 men included in the screening, 25% identified as black or African American, 32% as white, and 39% as “other” or multiracial.

A total of 155 participants reported being in a primary relationship, of whom 93 reported anal sex without a condom within the past 90 days (67%) and 75 reported anal sex without a condom outside the relationship (48%).

Of the 4 tools on the survey, the injection received the most interest (80%), followed by rectal douching (78%), removable implants (68%), and dissolvable implants (64%).

“In addition to PrEP and condom use, biotools, particularly rectal douching and injection, should be considered for further research and potential implementation as a means of HIV prevention among minority MSM,” the researchers concluded.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Levine E, Valentin O, Fernandez MI, et al. More than Just PrEP: exploring interest in hiv prevention approaches among racially diverse men who have sex with men. Paper presented at: American Public Health Association 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo; November 2-6, 2019; Philadelphia, PA. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/436771. Accessed November 4, 2019.