Increased PrEP Stigma in Gender Diverse Individuals

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Increased levels of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) stigma in gender diverse and transgender individuals are seen in younger populations, according to the results of a recent study presented this week at the annual meeting of the International AIDS Society in Munich, Germany.

Gender diverse is an umbrella term that describes a variety of gender expression such as nonbinary or intersex. It is not a result of sexual orientation. Transgender means that an individual is transitioning from one gender to another. These populations are at a higher risk for contracting HIV so it is imperative that precautions are taken.

A team of researchers led by Gennady Vulakh, a medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, collected the responses of an online survey taken by 272 transgender or gender diverse adults. The survey was available from April 2022 to June 2022. To be qualified for the survey, participants had to be sexually active, HIV-negative and PrEP aware.

Most respondents were ages 18 to 21 (30%), white (61%), transmasculine (55%) and at least a high school graduate (53%). Over half (58%) got their PrEP information from the internet.

“In the multivariable logistic regression model, the odds of high stigma levels due to PrEP-user stereotypes significantly decreased as participants’ age increased,” the abstract reads. “Tailored interventions should be developed by and in collaboration with young [gender diverse] people to disrupt community-level PrEP stigma and ensure interventions are salient to the needs of this diverse priority population.”

Race and ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual history were not associated with PrEP stereotype stigma.