(PS7-A1) Gay Men’s Knowledge of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Treatment as Prevention in Reducing HIV Transmission

There have been many advancements in treatment and prevention options for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) since it first began to devastate the LGBTQ+ community several decades ago. Two more recent prevention techniques to reduce the transmission of HIV include pre-exposure prophylaxis medications (PrEP) and treatment as prevention, the latter of which is sometimes described with the acronym U=U, meaning undetectable = untransmittable. PrEP medications include those such as Truvada or Descovy, which, when taken daily by an HIV-negative person greatly reduces their risk of becoming HIV-positive. More recently released PrEP medications require injections, but less frequently. U=U refers to the finding that an HIV-positive person is unable to transmit HIV through sex with consistent adherence to treatment regimens that keep their HIV viral load undetectable (CDC, 2022). While these prevention methods have great promise for reducing HIV transmission rates, they are limited if public knowledge of them is low. For example, HIV-positive individuals may be less likely to adhere to their treatment regimens when unaware of U=U, and HIV-negative individuals are not likely to ask their doctors about PrEP if they are unfamiliar with PrEP. The current study utilized data from a larger study on gay men’s mental and physical health to examine how familiar these individuals were with PrEP and U=U. Queer men, along with trans women, tend to be amongst the communities most impacted by HIV (CDC, 2021; HIV.org, 2022). The sample included 256 gay, cisgender men recruited online using the survey platform Prolific between February 21^st, 2023 and March 3^rd, 2023. The sample was primarily White (68.8%) with an average age of 36.5 years (SD=13.24, range 18-84). When asked if they were familiar with PrEP medications, 73.8% indicated that they were familiar with PrEP. They were then asked a series of questions about the usage of PrEP. Of those who indicated that they were familiar with PrEP, 91.5% correctly identified that PrEP prevented an HIV-negative person from becoming HIV-positive, but 9.5% incorrectly indicated that they believed it prevented other sexually transmissible infections (this may be related to confusion with the similarly named Doxy-PEP, which involves taking an antibiotic soon after sex to prevent other STIs), and 10.1% incorrectly identified that PrEP was intended for use with people who were already HIV-positive. Knowledge of U=U was somewhat lower. When asked whether the statement “A person who is HIV+ but has an undetectable viral load (the amount of the HIV virus in their body is so low it cannot be measured) cannot transmit HIV though sex” was true or false, only 58.2% accurately indicated that it was true, with 20.3% saying it was false, 19.9% saying “I do not know” and the remainder not responding. Although only 12 participants reported that, to the best of their knowledge, they were HIV-positive, 100% of those correctly identified the statement as true. This may indicate that HIV-negative individuals need more education related to U=U. Knowledge of U=U may serve dual purposes in both preventing HIV transmission and reducing stigma against people who are HIV-Positive.