You are here

Article Text

Article menu

Download PDFPDF

Poster Presentations
PS02 – POSTER VIEWING SESSION – TUESDAY
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 5:45 PM – 7:00 PM
P503 Trends in awareness and use of PrEP among HIV-negative men who have sex with men in vancouver, toronto, and montreal
Free
  1. Heather Armstrong1,
  2. Shenyi Pan2,
  3. Justin Barath1,
  4. Gbolahan Olarewaju3,
  5. Ricky Rodrigues4,
  6. Marc Messier-Peet5,
  7. Herak Apelian5,
  8. Mark Hull2,
  9. Darrell Tan6,
  10. Nathan Lachowsky7,
  11. Jody Jollimore8,
  12. Trevor Hart4,
  13. Daniel Grace9,
  14. Gilles Lambert5,
  15. Joseph Cox10,
  16. David Moore3
  1. 1BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Epidemiology and Population Health, Vancouver, Canada
  2. 2British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
  3. 3BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
  4. 4Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
  5. 5Direction Régionale de Santé Publique Montréal, Montreal, Canada
  6. 6St. Michael’s Hospital, Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Canada
  7. 7University of Victoria, School of Public Health and Social Policy, Victoria, Canada
  8. 8Community Based Research Centre, Vancouver, Canada
  9. 9University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  10. 10McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Background Awareness, availability, and public funding of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has increased substantially since it was approved by Health Canada in 2016 but policies and guidelines vary by province. Given the dynamic nature of PrEP policy and promotion, we sought to determine awareness and use of PrEP among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

Methods Beginning in 02/2017, sexually-active gbMSM ≥16 years and living in Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal were recruited into a cohort study using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Data are included up to 08/2018. At study visits every 6 months (Vancouver) or 12 months (Toronto, Montreal), participants completed a computer-assisted self-interview which included questions on PrEP awareness and use in the past 6 months (P6M). We used RDS-adjusted, general estimating equations accounting for two levels of clustering (RDS recruitment chain; participant) to evaluate temporal trends (monthly prevalence) of awareness and P6M usage of PrEP among HIV-negative participants.

Results 1619 HIV-negative gbMSM completed 2074 study visits (1205 Montreal, 285 Toronto, 584 Vancouver). Over the course of the study, PrEP awareness significantly increased among gbMSM in Montreal from 62.6% during the first 6-month period to 84.8% during the last 6-month period (OR:1.07, 95%CI:1.02–1.12, per month); awareness remained consistent in Toronto (89.8%–96.0%, ns) and Vancouver (84.5%–95.0%, ns). Use of PrEP increased significantly in all three sites: Montreal, 10.5% during the first 6-month period to 30.9% during the last 6-month period (OR:1.06, 95%CI:1.02–1.11); Toronto, 12.5% to 23.3% (OR:1.15, 95%CI:1.02–1.30); Vancouver, 11.4% to 35.2% (OR:1.16, 95%CI:1.06–1.27).

Conclusion Awareness of PrEP appears to be ≥85% among HIV-negative gbMSM across all three cities. Even though provincial policy and programs differ greatly in availability and cost of PrEP, use of PrEP increased in all sites during the course of the study.

Disclosure No significant relationships.

  • gay bisexual and other men who have sex with men
  • ART
  • PrEP

https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2019-sti.583

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.