Details:

Alternative Title:
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr
Personal Author:
Chen, Yen-Tyng ; Duncan, Dustin T. ; Del Vecchio, Natascha ; Timmins, Liadh ; Pagkas-Bather, Jade ; ... More +
Chen, Yen-Tyng ; Duncan, Dustin T. ; Del Vecchio, Natascha ; Timmins, Liadh ; Pagkas-Bather, Jade ; Lacap, Shaina ; Hotton, Anna ; Knox, Justin ; Hanson, Hillary ; Koli, Kangkana ; Durrell, Mainza ; Dehlin, Jessica ; Schneider, John A. Less -
Description:
Background

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted vulnerable populations, including Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) and transgender women (BTW). We investigated associations of COVID-19 stressors and sex behaviors with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) among BMSM and BTW.

Methods

As part of the Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) study, we conducted virtual interviews during peak COVID-19 infectivity in Chicago among BMSM and BTW (April-July 2020). Survey questions included multi-level COVID-19 stressors, sex behaviors, and current PrEP/ART use and access. Poisson regressions were used to examining relationships between COVID-19 stressors, sex behaviors, and PrEP/ART use/access.

Results

Among 222 participants, 31.8% of participants not living with HIV reported current PrEP use and 91.8% of participants living with HIV reported ART use during the pandemic. Most (83.3% and 78.2%, respectively) reported similar or easier PrEP and ART access during the pandemic. Physical stress reaction to COVID-19 (aPR=2.1; CI 1.3–3.5) and being in close proximity with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 (aPR=1.7; CI 1.1–2.8]) were associated with current PrEP use. Intimate partner violence (aPR=2.7; CI 1.0–7.2) and losing health insurance (aPR=3.5; CI 1.1–10.7) were associated with harder ART access. Travel-related financial burden was associated with harder access in PrEP (aPR=3.2; CI 1.0–10.1) and ART (aPR=6.2; CI 1.6 −24.3).

Conclusion

Multiple COVID-19 stressors were found to interfere with PrEP and ART use and access among BMSM and BTW. Contextually relevant strategies (e.g., promoting telehealth, decreasing transportation burden) to address COVID-19 stressors and their sequelae should be considered to minimize disruption in HIV biomedical interventions.


Subjects:
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Adult Anti-HIV Agents Black Or African American COVID-19 Female HIV-1 HIV Infections Homosexuality, Male Humans Male Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis SARS-CoV-2 Sexuality Stress, Psychological Transgender Persons Young Adult
Source:
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 88(3):261-271
Pubmed ID:
34310447
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC8518204
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
U01PS005122/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ ; U01 PS005122/PS/NCHHSTP CDC HHSUnited States/ ; K12 HL143959/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R03 DA053161/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 MH112406/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States/
U01PS005122/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ ; U01 PS005122/PS/NCHHSTP CDC HHSUnited States/ ; K12 HL143959/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R03 DA053161/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 MH112406/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States/ Less -
Place as Subject:
Chicago, IL
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:46c80d4734f04264ad5d45494178f93f52b402551e4c92b6be06e9570c7e5755
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/110936/cdc_110936_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• nihms-1726548.nxml

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