Covid-19, Vaccine Hesitancy, and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among Black sexual minority men

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr
• Personal Author:
  Turpin, Rodman E. ; Mandell, CJ ; Camp, Aaron D. ; Mhonde, Rochelle R. Davidson ; Dyer, Typhanye V. ; Mayer, Kenneth H. ; Liu, Hongjie ; Coates, Thomas ; Boekeloo, Bradley
• Description:
  Background:
  
  The Covid-19 pandemic has created substantial and profound barriers to several forms of healthcare engagement. For Black sexual minority men, this may include engagement with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection, with significant implications for HIV disparities. Our study explored how the Covid-19 pandemic affected Black sexual minority men, with a focus on relationships between Covid-19 and PrEP engagement.
  
  Setting:
  
  We sampled 24 Black sexual minority men attending HIV prevention-related events in the greater D.C. Metropolitan area (D.C., Maryland, Virginia).
  
  Methods:
  
  We conducted qualitative phone interviews among our sample. Questions were primarily focused on the Covid-19 pandemic and how it affected engagement and considerations of PrEP use. Interviews were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed using the six stages of thematic analysis.
  
  Results:
  
  We identified three major themes from our thematic analysis: Changes in the healthcare system, changes in sexual and relationship contexts, and Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. Relationships between Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and PrEP hesitancy were especially prevalent, with participants describing that Covid-19 hesitancy can directly deter PrEP use through eroding medical trust further.
  
  Conclusion:
  
  We identified changes in the healthcare system, sexual and relationship contexts, and Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy as important issues driven by Covid-19 with significant implications for PrEP use. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the healthcare and social landscape in profound ways that impact PrEP access, sexual networks, and associated HIV vulnerability. Future research further exploring relationships between specific pandemic stressors and HIV prevention among Black sexual minority men is recommended.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Anti-HIV Agents COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccines HIV Infections Homosexuality, Male Humans Male Pandemics Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Sexual And Gender Minorities Vaccination Hesitancy

  More +
• Keywords:
  Black Intersectionality Medical Mistrust Pandemic PrEP Sexuality
• Source:
  J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 94(5):387-394
• Pubmed ID:
  37732879
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10841093
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  U48DP006382/CC/CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U48 DP006382/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R01HL165686/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R25 MH067127/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States/ ; K01 MD016346/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 HL165686/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; K01MD016346/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  94
• Issue:
  5
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:039075d5e744a1468d6ff2164265aec1168c93571af3f99bda62848a66d86909546db7316bad64d8d9cd06c7f7214ecd7f986a8f5b7645600d05f930a1addda7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/147702/cdc_147702_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 88.02 KB ]