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LB10 Findings from an Online Survey to Measure Awareness, Willingness, and Use of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Males Using “Hook-up” Applications in Los Angeles County (LAC)

Thursday, September 22, 2016
Galleria Exhibit Hall
Shoshanna Nakleksy, MPH1, Ryan Murphy, PhD, MPH2, Amy Wohl, PhD, MPH2 and Sonali Kulkarni, MD, MPH3, 1Division of HIV and STD Programs, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, LA, CA, 2Division of HIV and STD Programs, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, 3Division of HIV and STD Programs, County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA

Background: The LAC Division of HIV and STD Programs (DHSP) conducted an online survey to measure awareness, willingness to use and current use of PrEP among men who have sex with men (MSM) who use "hook-up" applications ("apps"). 

Methods: Over a 10-day period in April 2016, DHSP placed pop-up and banner advertisements on 7 "apps" popular among MSM (6 English-language and 1 Spanish-language). Advertisements requested app-users to click on a link and complete a 2-minute survey.  A total of 1,092 individuals responded to the survey.  This analysis is restricted to 865 males who reported being HIV-negative.

Results: Eighty-four percent of HIV-negative males were aware of PrEP, 76% were willing to use PrEP and 24% reported currently using PrEP.  Respectively, PrEP awareness, willingness, and use was 92%, 74%, and 35% for Whites (n=289); 87%, 77%, and 24% for Blacks (n=86) and 76%, 76%, and 16% for Latinos (n=387). Among Latinos, those who completed the survey in Spanish (n=116) were less likely to be aware, willing or using PrEP (62%, 70%, and 12%, respectively) than Latinos who responded to the survey in English (82%, 78%, and 18%, respectively). Spanish-language Latino respondents were significantly less aware of PrEP compared with White (p<0.001), Black (p<0.001) and English-language Latino respondents (p<0.003); significantly less willing to use PrEP than Black respondents (p<0.02); and significantly less likely to report using PrEP than White (p<0.001) and Black respondents (p<0.003).

Conclusions: A greater proportion of survey respondents indicated that they were aware of and using PrEP than previously reported in LAC survey data, including National HIV Behavioral Surveillance.  This analysis highlights disparities in PrEP awareness and use among Latinos, particularly those who responded to the survey in Spanish, emphasizing the need for culturally appropriate outreach to providers and Spanish-speaking Latinos to ensure that PrEP services are accessible to all LAC residents.

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