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

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.

Keywords: Acceptability; Accessibility; Awareness; Hispanic; Latino; Men who have sex with men; Pre-exposure prophylaxis.