Acceptability and Preferences for Hypothetical Rectal Microbicides among a Community Sample of Young Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Thailand: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Newman, P.A.; Cameron, S.; Roungprakhon, S.; Tepjan, S.; Scarpa, R.

Abstract

Rectal microbicides (RMs) may offer substantial benefits in expanding HIV prevention options for key populations. From April to August 2013, we conducted Tablet-Assisted Survey Interviewing, including a discrete choice experiment, with participants recruited from gay entertainment venues and community-based organizations in Chiang Mai and Pattaya, Thailand. Among 408 participants, 74.5 % were young men who have sex with men, 25.5 % transgender women, with mean age = 24.3 years. One-third (35.5 %) had ≤9th grade education; 63.4 % engaged in sex work. Overall, 83.4 % reported they would definitely use a RM, with more than 2-fold higher odds of choice of a RM with 99 versus 50 % efficacy, and significantly higher odds of choosing gel versus suppository, intermittent versus daily dosing, and prescription versus over-the-counter. Sex workers were significantly more likely to use a RM immediately upon availability, with greater tolerance for moderate efficacy and daily dosing. Engaging key populations in assessing RM preferences may support biomedical research and evidence-informed interventions to optimize the effectiveness of RMs in HIV prevention.

Citation

Newman, P., Cameron, S., Roungprakhon, S., Tepjan, S., & Scarpa, R. (2015). Acceptability and Preferences for Hypothetical Rectal Microbicides among a Community Sample of Young Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Thailand: A Discrete Choice Experiment. AIDS and Behavior, 20(11), 2588-2601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1258-9

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 22, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Dec 22, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 22, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 4, 2018
• Journal: AIDS and Behavior
• Print ISSN: 1090-7165
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-3254
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 2588-2601
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1258-9
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1380513