Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey

Background: Curbing new HIV infections among MSM in SSA remains problematic, due to cultural beliefs, norms that oppose same-sex acts, and criminalization of same-sex acts. No study focused on barriers to PEP use in SSA region has been conducted. Our study focused on identifying barriers to Post-Exp...

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Main Authors: Sandra Isano, Rex Wong, Jenae Logan, Soha El-Halabi, Ziad El-Khatib
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-09-01
Series:Preventive Medicine Reports
Subjects:
MSM
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300607
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spelling doaj-3446343fc67741bb8cf25d4b7d5de58c2020-11-25T04:01:30ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552020-09-0119101100Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional surveySandra Isano0Rex Wong1Jenae Logan2Soha El-Halabi3Ziad El-Khatib4University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), Rwanda; Corresponding author.University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), Rwanda; Yale University, USAUniversity of Global Health Equity (UGHE), RwandaDepartment of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics (LIME), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenUniversity of Global Health Equity (UGHE), Rwanda; World Health Programme, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Québec, CanadaBackground: Curbing new HIV infections among MSM in SSA remains problematic, due to cultural beliefs, norms that oppose same-sex acts, and criminalization of same-sex acts. No study focused on barriers to PEP use in SSA region has been conducted. Our study focused on identifying barriers to Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) use among MSM in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was sent out to members of 14 Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, Queer (LGBTQ) associations in SSA, to identify barriers to PEP utilization in MSM. A total of 297 MSM from 22 countries in SSA completed the survey between 8 January 2019 and 23 February 2019. Descriptive statistics were generated, chi-square and backward stepwise logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the association between the outcome “PEP use” and other variables. Results: Most of the MSM were aged 18 to 30, and the majority (220, 74.6%) described themselves as gay. Rwanda had the highest number of respondents (117, 39.7% of the total), followed by Nigeria, Ghana and South-Africa.The majority of respondents reported having heard about PEP (234, 80.7%), and the average PEP correct knowledge level was 59%.Five characteristics were associated with increased odds of using PEP: Age, having vocational education, having heard of PEP, knowledge of where to get PEP, and having been refused housing. Conclusion: There is a need for a collaborative effort between policy makers, key players in HIV prevention, and MSM associations in SSA to remove barriers to PEP uptake to promote optimal PEP utilization amongst MSM.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300607Post-exposure prophylaxisMSMKey populationHIV preventionSub-Saharan Africa
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Sandra Isano
Rex Wong
Jenae Logan
Soha El-Halabi
Ziad El-Khatib
spellingShingle Sandra Isano
Rex Wong
Jenae Logan
Soha El-Halabi
Ziad El-Khatib
Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey
Preventive Medicine Reports
Post-exposure prophylaxis
MSM
Key population
HIV prevention
Sub-Saharan Africa
author_facet Sandra Isano
Rex Wong
Jenae Logan
Soha El-Halabi
Ziad El-Khatib
author_sort Sandra Isano
title Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey
title_short Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey
title_full Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey
title_fullStr Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey
title_full_unstemmed Barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: An online cross-sectional survey
title_sort barriers to post exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men in sub-saharan africa: an online cross-sectional survey
publisher Elsevier
series Preventive Medicine Reports
issn 2211-3355
publishDate 2020-09-01
description Background: Curbing new HIV infections among MSM in SSA remains problematic, due to cultural beliefs, norms that oppose same-sex acts, and criminalization of same-sex acts. No study focused on barriers to PEP use in SSA region has been conducted. Our study focused on identifying barriers to Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) use among MSM in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was sent out to members of 14 Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, Queer (LGBTQ) associations in SSA, to identify barriers to PEP utilization in MSM. A total of 297 MSM from 22 countries in SSA completed the survey between 8 January 2019 and 23 February 2019. Descriptive statistics were generated, chi-square and backward stepwise logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the association between the outcome “PEP use” and other variables. Results: Most of the MSM were aged 18 to 30, and the majority (220, 74.6%) described themselves as gay. Rwanda had the highest number of respondents (117, 39.7% of the total), followed by Nigeria, Ghana and South-Africa.The majority of respondents reported having heard about PEP (234, 80.7%), and the average PEP correct knowledge level was 59%.Five characteristics were associated with increased odds of using PEP: Age, having vocational education, having heard of PEP, knowledge of where to get PEP, and having been refused housing. Conclusion: There is a need for a collaborative effort between policy makers, key players in HIV prevention, and MSM associations in SSA to remove barriers to PEP uptake to promote optimal PEP utilization amongst MSM.
topic Post-exposure prophylaxis
MSM
Key population
HIV prevention
Sub-Saharan Africa
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300607
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