Exchanging a “gnawing thought for “taking a pill once a day”: Examining sexual minority men's experiences with PrEP and mental health in a universal PrEP access context
| dc.contributor.author | Gagliano, Nick | |
| dc.contributor.author | Black, Stéphanie | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mniszak, Caroline | |
| dc.contributor.author | Morgan, Jeffrey | |
| dc.contributor.author | Lachowsky, Nathan J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Knight, Rod | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-02-08T22:47:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-02-08T22:47:59Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2021 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2021 | |
| dc.description | We want to thank our study participants for sharing their stories and experiences with us. Thank you to the Investigaytors Team, who were involved in many stages of the research process as community partners. We also want to acknowledge the contributions of staff members who aided with data collection, coding and other stages of the research cycle, including Anna Carson, Michelle Pang, Leslie Szeto, Natasha Parent, Victoria Panwala, and Rodney Stehr. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This study explores how universal access to and taking no-cost preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which effectively prevents HIV acquisition, may impact the mental health-related experiences of sexual minority men, including HIV-related anxiety. We employed community-based and participatory methods to conduct and analyze 27 interviews with sexual minority men in British Columbia, Canada. Before starting PrEP, participants’ experiences with sex were highly associated with HIV-related anxiety. Participants stated they did not explicitly initiate PrEP to reduce HIV-related anxiety, yet many described significant reductions of HIV-related anxiety after starting PrEP. Participants described feeling that the sex they were having was safer following their initiation of PrEP, which resulted in increased ability to access heightened experiences of pleasure, desire, and intimacy. PrEP's capacity to impact HIV stigma and health broadly should continue to be explored, particularly given the mental health inequities faced by those who may acquire HIV. | en_US |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | en_US |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Faculty | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CTW-155550]. RK and NJL are supported by Scholar Awards from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. This work was supported in part by an Innovation Research Grant from CANFAR, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Gagliano, N., Black, S., Mniszak, C., Morgan, J. D., Lachowsky, N. J., & Knight, R. (2021). Exchanging a “Gnawing Thought for “Taking a Pill Once a Day”: Examining Sexual Minority Men’s Experiences With PrEP and Mental Health in a Universal PrEP Access Context. AIDS Education and Prevention, 33(5), 411–423. https://doi.org/10.1521/aeap.2021.33.5.411 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1521/aeap.2021.33.5.411 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1828/15965 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | AIDS Education and Prevention | en_US |
| dc.subject | HIV | |
| dc.subject | PrEP | |
| dc.subject | mental health | |
| dc.subject | sexual minority men | |
| dc.subject.department | School of Public Health and Social Policy | |
| dc.title | Exchanging a “gnawing thought for “taking a pill once a day”: Examining sexual minority men's experiences with PrEP and mental health in a universal PrEP access context | en_US |
| dc.type | Postprint | en_US |