“That’s kind of like the big struggle right now is can we get PrEP?”: Facilitators and Barriers to PrEP Uptake Among Active Duty Gay and Bisexual Men

Introduction The US Military is experiencing a rise in HIV infections among gay and bisexual men (GBM) serving on active duty, yet little is known about this population’s uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an evidence-based intervention for HIV prevention. This mixed methods study examines t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexuality research & social policy 2023-06, Vol.20 (2), p.413-425
Main Authors: Beltran, Raiza M., Schuyler, Ashley C., Blair, Cherie S., Goldbach, Jeremy T., Castro, Carl A., Holloway, Ian W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Armed forces
Barriers
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Bisexuality
Confidentiality
Data
Health care
Health services
HIV
Homosexuality
Human immunodeficiency virus
Men
Peer relationships
Physicians
Prevention programs
Preventive medicine
Psychology
Sexual Behavior
Sexual orientation
Social networks
Social Sciences
Systems approach
Uptake
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Introduction The US Military is experiencing a rise in HIV infections among gay and bisexual men (GBM) serving on active duty, yet little is known about this population’s uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an evidence-based intervention for HIV prevention. This mixed methods study examines the facilitators and barriers to PrEP access and uptake among active duty GBM. Methods Active duty GBM were recruited using respondent-driven sampling (2017 and 2018). Participants ( n  = 93) answered quantitative survey questions on PrEP interest and accessibility. Another set of participants ( n  = 10) discussed their PrEP experiences in qualitative interviews . We conducted descriptive and bivariate analyses of quantitative data, while qualitative data were analyzed using structural and descriptive coding techniques. Results Approximately 71% of active duty GBM indicated interest in accessing PrEP. A greater proportion of those who disclosed (vs. did not disclose) their sexual orientation to their military doctor discussed ( p  
ISSN:1868-9884
1553-6610
DOI:10.1007/s13178-021-00622-6