PrEP Use and Persistence Among Young Sexual Minority Men 17-24 Years Old During the COVID-19 Pandemic. AIDS Behav 2022 Mar;26(3):631-638
Date
08/14/2021Pubmed ID
34387777Pubmed Central ID
PMC8361406DOI
10.1007/s10461-021-03423-5Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85112349894 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 36 CitationsAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to health care access for sexual and gender minorities in the U.S. We sought to explore the impact of COVID-19 on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use and sexual health services by assessing PrEP eligibility and use, changes in sexual behaviors, and HIV/STI testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed 239 young sexual minority men (YSMM) 17-24 years old between April and September 2020 in the U.S. One-in-seven YSMM PrEP users discontinued use during the pandemic, and all those who discontinued PrEP reported a decrease in sexual activity. Twenty percent reported difficulty getting prescriptions and medications from their doctors or pharmacies, and more than 10% reported challenges accessing HIV/STI testing. Among those who met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for PrEP (n = 104), 86.5% were not currently using PrEP. Among those surveyed 3 months or later after the start of major COVID-19 stay-at-home measures (n = 165), 35.8% reported CAS with a causal partner within the past 3 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking HIV testing was associated with reporting condomless anal sex in the previous 3 months, indicating the necessity for ensuring continuity of basic sexual health services for YSMM. Failure to adequately adjust HIV prevention services and intervention in the face of pandemic-related adversity undermines efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.
Author List
Hong C, Horvath KJ, Stephenson R, Nelson KM, Petroll AE, Walsh JL, John SAAuthors
Steven A. John PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinAndrew Petroll MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Jennifer L. Walsh PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
HIV Infections
Homosexuality, Male
Humans
Male
Pandemics
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
Sexual Behavior
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Young Adult
