Increasing Belief in the Effectiveness of HIV Treatment as Prevention: Results of Repeated, National Surveys of Australian Gay and Bisexual Men, 2013-15

Martin Holt; Toby Lea; Heather-Marie Schmidt; Dean Murphy; Marsha Rosengarten; David Crawford; Jeanne Ellard; Johann Kolstee; John de Wit

doi:10.1007/s10461-016-1306-0

Increasing Belief in the Effectiveness of HIV Treatment as Prevention: Results of Repeated, National Surveys of Australian Gay and Bisexual Men, 2013-15

AIDS Behav. 2016 Jul;20(7):1564-71. doi: 10.1007/s10461-016-1306-0.

Authors

Martin Holt¹, Toby Lea², Heather-Marie Schmidt³, Dean Murphy^{2

4}, Marsha Rosengarten^{2

5}, David Crawford⁶, Jeanne Ellard⁷, Johann Kolstee⁸, John de Wit²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. m.holt@unsw.edu.au.
² Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
³ New South Wales Ministry of Health, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Melbourne, Australia.
⁵ Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.
⁶ Positive Life NSW, Sydney, Australia.
⁷ Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
⁸ ACON, Sydney, Australia.

PMID: 26803613
DOI: 10.1007/s10461-016-1306-0

Abstract

We surveyed Australian gay and bisexual men, assessing belief in HIV treatment as prevention (TasP) and support for early treatment. We identified the characteristics of participants who believed in TasP and supported early treatment using multivariate logistic regression. In 2013, 1316 men participated; 1251 participated in 2015. Belief in TasP increased from 2.6 % in 2013 to 13.1 % in 2015 (p < 0.001). The increase was most noticeable among HIV-positive men (from 9.7 % to 46.2 %). Support for early treatment increased from 71.8 % to 75.3 % (p = 0.02). Belief in TasP was associated with being HIV-positive, having a tertiary education, having recent condomless anal intercourse with casual male partners, and ever having taken post-exposure prophylaxis. Support for early HIV treatment was associated with being younger, living in New South Wales and being in paid employment. We recommend continued monitoring of the growing gap in belief about TasP between HIV-positive men and HIV-negative/untested men.

Keywords: Acceptability; Attitudes; Cross-sectional surveys; HIV treatment as prevention; Men who have sex with men.

MeSH terms

Adult
Bisexuality / psychology*
Cross-Sectional Studies
HIV Infections / prevention & control
HIV Infections / psychology*
HIV Infections / transmission
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Health Surveys
Homosexuality, Male / psychology*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
New South Wales
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis*
Risk-Taking
Sexual Behavior / statistics & numerical data
Sexual Partners
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Unsafe Sex
Young Adult