Attitudes and perceptions towards preventing HIV transmission and the percentage that reported ever discussing U=U with their healthcare provider among people living with HIV in 25 countries, Positive Perspectives Study, 2019
Characteristics | Categories | N, % | Comfortable discussing HIV transmission with HCP, % | Ever discussed U=U with HCP, % | Aware that HIV medications prevent HIV transmission, % | Either discussed U=U with HCP or reported awareness that HIV medications prevent transmission, % |
Total | Overall | 2389 (100.0) | 59.8 | 66.5 | 74.2 | 87.6 |
Age, years | <50 | 1690 (70.7) | 55.5 | 65.5 | 74.0 | 87.0 |
50+ | 699 (29.3) | 70.1 | 68.8 | 74.7 | 89.0 | |
Gender | Men | 1623 (67.9) | 61.5 | 66.6 | 76.8 | 88.4 |
Women | 696 (29.1) | 58.0 | 64.7 | 67.8 | 85.1 | |
Other | 70 (2.9) | 37.1 | 81.4 | 78.6 | 95.7 | |
Gender/sexual orientation | Men who have sex with men | 1018 (42.6) | 70.3 | 70.5 | 83.2 | 92.7 |
Men who have sex with women | 479 (20.1) | 42.8 | 57.6 | 63.0 | 78.7 | |
Women who have sex with men | 481 (20.1) | 59.3 | 64.2 | 69.9 | 85.7 | |
Women who have sex with women | 62 (2.6) | 45.2 | 61.3 | 54.8 | 74.2 | |
Other/indeterminate | 349 (14.6) | 55.6 | 70.8 | 72.8 | 90.0 | |
Overall health | Suboptimal | 1012 (42.4) | 50.5 | 61.4 | 69.1 | 83.8 |
Optimal | 1377 (57.6) | 66.6 | 70.2 | 78.0 | 90.4 | |
Physical health | Suboptimal | 953 (39.9) | 50.2 | 59.8 | 67.1 | 83.0 |
Optimal | 1436 (60.1) | 66.2 | 70.9 | 79.0 | 90.7 | |
Mental health | Suboptimal | 1013 (42.4) | 50.9 | 58.8 | 68.3 | 81.9 |
Optimal | 1376 (57.6) | 66.3 | 72.1 | 78.6 | 91.8 | |
Sexual health | Suboptimal | 1227 (51.4) | 55.7 | 63.0 | 70.9 | 85.8 |
Optimal | 1162 (48.6) | 64.1 | 70.1 | 77.7 | 89.5 | |
Geographical Region* | Northern America | 520 (21.8) | 53.8 | 67.3 | 64.2 | 84.8 |
Europe | 1119 (46.8) | 61.1 | 68.4 | 78.8 | 90.5 | |
Latin America | 221 (9.3) | 59.7 | 60.6 | 71.9 | 84.6 | |
Asia | 230 (9.6) | 50.4 | 51.3 | 64.3 | 78.7 | |
Australia | 120 (5.0) | 81.7 | 80.0 | 90.8 | 97.5 | |
South Africa | 179 (7.5) | 65.9 | 69.8 | 78.8 | 86.0 | |
Housing status | Own | 722 (30.2) | 61.1 | 65.7 | 73.1 | 88.4 |
Rent | 916 (38.3) | 63.3 | 68.1 | 77.5 | 89.2 | |
Other | 751 (31.4) | 54.2 | 65.2 | 71.2 | 85.0 | |
HCP location | Metropolitan | 1583 (66.3) | 64.8 | 69.0 | 79.7 | 90.9 |
Non-metropolitan | 806 (33.7) | 49.9 | 61.5 | 63.4 | 81.1 | |
PLHIV location | Metropolitan | 1335 (55.9) | 63.4 | 67.9 | 80.0 | 90.7 |
Non-metropolitan | 1054 (44.1) | 55.1 | 64.6 | 66.9 | 83.7 | |
Commute to HCP | <30 min | 869 (36.4) | 65.5 | 71.9 | 78.3 | 91.4 |
30–59 min | 1027 (43.0) | 58.1 | 65.5 | 71.0 | 85.0 | |
60+ min/unknown | 493 (20.6) | 53.1 | 58.8 | 73.8 | 86.4 | |
Employment status | Employed | 1653 (69.2) | 60.0 | 65.8 | 73.7 | 87.6 |
Non-employed | 736 (30.8) | 59.4 | 68.1 | 75.3 | 87.6 | |
Education | ≤High school | 532 (22.3) | 59.0 | 72.6 | 72.0 | 88.5 |
>High school | 1756 (73.5) | 61.4 | 63.7 | 74.7 | 87.0 | |
Refused to answer | 101 (4.2) | 35.6 | 83.2 | 78.2 | 93.1 | |
Ethnicity | White | 1393 (58.3) | 61.7 | 67.1 | 74.3 | 88.4 |
Black | 275 (11.5) | 60.0 | 69.8 | 70.9 | 84.0 | |
Other | 346 (14.5) | 59.0 | 63.9 | 74.0 | 86.7 | |
Unknown/missing | 375 (15.7) | 53.3 | 64.0 | 76.5 | 88.3 | |
Preventing HIV transmission was a treatment goal when starting treatment | No | 1216 (50.9) | 57.6 | 61.8 | 69.4 | 84.7 |
Yes | 1173 (49.1) | 62.1 | 71.3 | 79.2 | 90.6 | |
Self-reported viral load | Not suppressed/unknown | 619 (25.9) | 48.5 | 59.6 | 54.3 | 79.2 |
Suppressed | 1770 (74.1) | 63.7 | 68.9 | 81.2 | 90.6 | |
HIV diagnosis year | 2017–2019 | 548 (22.9) | 55.5 | 67.3 | 67.9 | 88.5 |
2010–2016 | 913 (38.2) | 54.2 | 66.2 | 73.1 | 85.0 | |
Pre-2010 | 928 (38.8) | 67.8 | 66.3 | 79.1 | 89.7 |
* Geographical regions were: Northern America (U.S. and Canada); Europe (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Ireland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK); Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico), and Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan); South Africa and Australia were analyzed separately.
HCP, healthcare provider; PLHIV, people living with HIV; U=U, undetectable equals untransmittable.