Underlying factors related to HIV/AIDS prevention: investigating the willingness to take pre-exposure prophylaxis among men-who-have-sex-with-men in Germany

Abstract

Background This study investigates the willingness of men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Research in the HIV/AIDS field typically relies on clinical and epidemiological studies, thereby often excluding social dimensions of the illness as well as factors explaining its prevention. The current study analyzes HIV-prevention through an interdisciplinary theoretical approach. It aims to comprehensively understand the mechanisms associated with the willingness to take PrEP among MSM in terms of psychological, social, behavioral, cultural, and demographic factors. Methods We analyze data from the survey “Gay Men and AIDS” conducted in Germany in 2013 prior to market approval for PrEP. Analyses were performed using the statistical software SPSS 25.0, while results were visualized using the R programming language. Results We find that perceived risk of infection, social norms (anticipated HIV-stigma), practices (e.g. regular condomless sex), and socio-demographic factors (young age, being single) all have a positive effect on the willingness to take PrEP, while education reveals a negative, and income no effect. Conclusions Results indicate that beyond well-established socio-psychological mechanisms of health behavior, social factors play a crucial role in understanding the willingness of PrEP uptake. This study enriches existing health behavior theories with sociological concepts such as social norms and social practices.

Behavioral Intention of Receiving Monkeypox Vaccination and Undergoing Monkeypox Testing and the Associated Factors Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men in China: Large Cross-Sectional Study

“…The theory of planned behavior (TPB) [ 19 ] says that attitudes, social norms, and perceived control of behaviors are predictors of behavioral intention. According to these theories and previous studies on other sexually associated infectious diseases, several factors may affect the behavioral intention of receiving mpox vaccination and undergoing mpox testing among MSM, including general factors (eg, sociodemographic characteristics, risk behaviors, disease knowledge, perceptions of health behaviors) and MSM-specific factors (eg, stigma) [ 20 , 21 ]. Although a large body of literature has examined preventive behaviors of diseases associated with MSM (eg, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases [STDs], human papillomavirus [HPV]), the situation of mpox might be different, as it is a newly emerging disease in MSM communities.…”