PrEP Usage Demographics Among Participants Who Were Surveyed Using Convenience Sampling at Two LGBTQ Focused Events in Pittsburgh

Introduction PrEP is defined as daily medicine taken by at-risk individuals to prevent HIV. Although an increasing number of individuals are using PrEP, more studies are needed to accurately assess the distribution of PrEP use in different populations. Existing data suggests that PrEP usage remains low in communities that need it the most. Black and Hispanic MSM are significantly less likely to use PrEP compared to White MSM. Objectives This study hypothesizes that: i) African-Americans have lower odds of reporting past/present PrEP use compared to white individuals. ii) Latino/Hispanic individuals have lower odds of reporting past/present PrEP use compared to white individuals. iii) Individuals in the 26-35-year age-group have higher odds of reporting past/present PrEP use compared to individuals in the 18-25-year age-group. iv) MSM individuals have higher odds of reporting past/present PrEP use than non-MSM individuals. Methods Anonymous, multiple-choice questionnaires were administered at the Allies for Health+Wellbeing Booth during both events. A total of 267 individuals were surveyed. IRB approval was not obtained prior to data collection but post hoc IRB permission to publish the data was obtained. Results Out of the 263 individuals included in the study, 34(12.9%) individuals were past/present PrEP users. Individuals in the 26-35-year age-group were significantly more likely to report past/present PrEP use compared to 18-25-year-olds. African-Americans were significantly more likely to report past/present PrEP use compared to White individuals. Native-Americans were significantly more likely to report past/present PrEP use compared to White individuals. Being an MSM was significantly associated with past/present PrEP usage (compared to non-MSM). Conclusion The public health significance of this study is that it provides a snapshot of past/present PrEP usage in the surveyed population. A PrEP to Need ratio (PnR) can be calculated with the help of this data and can be used to assess PrEP usage over time. This data can then be used as a basis to carry out more research to develop interventions to increase PrEP use in populations who are at a high risk of HIV acquisition with low rates of PrEP use. More demographic data is needed from future studies to accurately assess PrEP use.