title: Increasing Belief in the Effectiveness of HIV Treatment as Prevention: Results of Repeated, National Surveys of Australian Gay and Bisexual Men, 2013-15.
abstract: We surveyed Australian gay and bisexual men, assessing belief in HIV treatment as prevention (TasP) and support for early treatment. We identified the characteristics of participants who believed in TasP and supported early treatment using multivariate logistic regression. In 2013, 1316 men participated; 1251 participated in 2015. Belief in TasP increased from 2.6 % in 2013 to 13.1 % in 2015 (p < 0.001). The increase was most noticeable among HIV-positive men (from 9.7 % to 46.2 %). Support for early treatment increased from 71.8 % to 75.3 % (p = 0.02). Belief in TasP was associated with being HIV-positive, having a tertiary education, having recent condomless anal intercourse with casual male partners, and ever having taken post-exposure prophylaxis. Support for early HIV treatment was associated with being younger, living in New South Wales and being in paid employment. We recommend continued monitoring of the growing gap in belief about TasP between HIV-positive men and HIV-negative/untested men.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. m.holt@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2586-8274
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Toby
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lea
authors.affiliation: New South Wales Ministry of Health, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Heather-Marie
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.|National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.|Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosengarten
authors.affiliation: Positive Life NSW, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellard
authors.affiliation: ACON, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kolstee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Level 2, John Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Wit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000635:transmission; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D056990:Post-Exposure Prophylaxis; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012747:Sexual Partners; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities; D047568:Unsafe Sex; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acceptability; Attitudes; Cross-sectional surveys; HIV treatment as prevention; Men who have sex with men