Background Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) are disproportionately affected by STIs and HIV. Originally efficacious with young Black GBM, Focus on the Future (FoF) is a clinic-based, single session intervention aimed at improving prevention practices. We examined the efficacy of the program when adapted for Vancouver’s ethnoracially diverse GBM communities.

Methods Participants were recruited from a GBM sexual health clinic and completed a one-time 60-minute education session with a peer health educator. This included condom and lubricant information and condom application skills practice. Between 09/2018–02/2019, each participant completed a baseline survey prior to intervention and again three months later, which were compared using paired t-tests.

Results A total of24 HIV-negative participants received the intervention: average age was 27.8 years (SD=3.53) and 52% identified as non-white. The intervention was highly acceptable: 87% liked it and 91% would recommend it to others. At 3-month follow-up, participants agreed the intervention increased: knowledge about using lubricants with condoms (83%), condom use skills (78%), and condom use confidence (70%). At baseline, few participants used daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP, 17%); post-intervention, 6 PrEP-naïve participants reported initiating PrEP (32%). Overall, condom use frequency during anal sex with male partners did not change (51% baseline versus 58% post-intervention, p=0.41). However, among non-PrEP users, condom use frequency significantly increased during receptive anal sex (61% baseline versus 78% post-intervention, p=0.04) and marginally increased during insertive anal sex (24% baseline versus 48% post-intervention, p=0.11).

Conclusion The adapted FOF intervention was highly acceptable to ethnoracially diverse GBM in Vancouver. A third of participants initiated PrEP within 90 days. Among participants not using PrEP, the intervention effectively increased condom use during receptive anal sex, when HIV acquisition is most likely. This low-cost intervention demonstrates promise for increasing prevention practices among GBM attending STI clinics in Vancouver.

Disclosure No significant relationships.