Acceptability of Using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis HIV Medication Service among Men Who Have Sex with Men, Bangkok Metropolis

Abstract

Getting pre-exposure prophylaxis HIV medication was an effective strategy supporting to reach the ending of AIDS in the future. This cross-sectional study aimed at assessing rate of acceptability of using pre-exposure prophylaxis HIV medication (PrEP) services and identifying factors associated with the acceptability among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Bangkok. The 280 MSM were randomly selected. They were aged 18 years or older, living in Bangkok at least one month. The data were collected by a self-administration questionnaire during July to September 2021. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the questionnaire for perceived benefits of Prep, perceived obstacles of using the service and service facility factor equaled 0.841, 0.763 and 0.789, respectively. Chi-square was used to identify factors associated acceptability with the PrEP service, at a significant level 0.05. The results revealed that, 63.2% decided to use PrEP service, the factors associated with PrEP service acceptability were age, length of stay in Bangkok, monthly income, medical right, perceived benefits of PrEP, perceived obstacles of using the service and service facilities factor. Thus, perceived PrEP services information was associated with the acceptability of PrEP service. Therefore, interventions for increasing knowledge and the place of PrEP free services are necessary to promote the service.