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Predictors of Awareness, Accessibility and Acceptability of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Among English- and Spanish-Speaking Latino Men Who have Sex with Men in Los Angeles, California

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Abstract

Uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM) remains low. We examined awareness, accessibility, acceptability and use of PrEP among LMSM. LMSM were recruited using social/sexual networking apps. Multiple Logistic regressions identified significant predictors of PrEP awareness, accessibility and acceptability. Among 276 participants, only 6% reported current PrEP use. Among non-PrEP users, 85% reported PrEP awareness, 71% indicated high likelihood of future PrEP use, but only 35% reported knowledge about accessing PrEP. In multiple logistic regressions, a lower likelihood of PrEP awareness was associated with lower level education, whereas a higher likelihood was associated with reporting 6–10 or over 10 sexual partners. A lower likelihood of PrEP accessibility was associated with lower level education and undocumented status. A lower likelihood of PrEP acceptability was associated with an income of $15,001–30,000, whereas a higher likelihood was associated with lower level education and reporting 6–10 or over 10 sexual partners. PrEP promotion targeting Latino MSM should be expanded for those with lower levels of education and those who are undocumented.

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Ackowledgements

We thank Jesus Duran, Edgar Camacho, Hugo Aguilar and Alex Aldana for their assistance with data collection activities and, most importantly, the participants who graciously took the time to complete our survey. This study was funded by a California HIV/AIDS Research Program Grant to FG.

Funding

This study was funded by the California HIV/AIDS Research Program of the University of California Office of the President (TL13-BHS-584). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CHRP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bienestar Human Services, Inc., Los Angeles, California, USA

    Ronald A. Brooks, Amanda Landrian, Gabriela Lazalde, Frank H. Galvan & Ying-Tung Chen

  2. Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Ronald A. Brooks

  3. Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, Jonathan and Karin University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Amanda Landrian & Gabriela Lazalde

  4. Division of Public Health & Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Honghu Liu

  5. Division of General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Honghu Liu

  6. Department of Biostatistics, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Honghu Liu

  7. Department of Family Medicine, UCLA, 10880 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    Ronald A. Brooks

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  1. Ronald A. Brooks
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Correspondence to Ronald A. Brooks.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (University of California, Los Angeles, Institutional Review Board, IRB#15-001625) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Brooks, R.A., Landrian, A., Lazalde, G. et al. Predictors of Awareness, Accessibility and Acceptability of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Among English- and Spanish-Speaking Latino Men Who have Sex with Men in Los Angeles, California. J Immigrant Minority Health 22, 708–716 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-019-00955-w

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