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. 2023 Dec 10:37:102553.
doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102553. eCollection 2024 Jan.

Perspectives on unhealthy alcohol use among men who have sex with men prescribed HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: A qualitative study

Sabrina H Strong  1 , Benjamin J Oldfield  2   3 , Jacob J van den Berg  1   4   5 , Christopher A Cole  6 , Emma Biegacki  3 , Onyema Ogbuagu  3 , Michael Virata  3 , Philip A Chan  1   4 , E Jennifer Edelman  3   7
Affiliations

Perspectives on unhealthy alcohol use among men who have sex with men prescribed HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: A qualitative study

Sabrina H Strong et al. Prev Med Rep. .

Abstract

Unhealthy alcohol use is a common, often unaddressed behavior associated with increased risk for acquisition of HIV and may also be associated with decreased adherence to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) living in the United States. To inform future alcohol-reduction interventions among individuals engaging in PrEP care, we sought to explore perspectives on alcohol use, PrEP adherence, and the acceptability of alcohol use treatment options for MSM prescribed oral formulations of PrEP in the Northeastern United States. Between February 2019 and July 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 MSM without HIV who were prescribed PrEP and screened positive for unhealthy alcohol use with AUDIT-C ≥ 4 and were receiving care in Providence, Rhode Island or New Haven, Connecticut. Interviews were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: 1) Consequences of fluctuations in drinking 2) Alcohol use negatively impacts health and relationships; and 3) Desire for a multimodal approach to treatment of unhealthy alcohol use. Our findings support the need to raise awareness of potential alcohol-related harms, address the spectrum of unhealthy alcohol use among MSM prescribed PrEP, and the acceptability and preferences for alcohol reduction interventions within PrEP programs.

Keywords: Alcohol; HIV; Men who have sex with men; PrEP; Qualitative research.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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