Gafos, M. et al. The Context of Sexual Risk Behaviour Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Seeking PrEP, and the Impact of PrEP on Sexual Behaviour. AIDS Behav (2018). (Full text freely available).

Qualitative data from the PROUD study revealed that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important added prevention tool to strategies already in place for men in England having frequent condomless sex, according to a recent article in AIDS and Behavior.

While approximately half of the participants indicated that they had made changes to other risk reduction strategies after starting PrEP, the other half did not alter their behaviours. In the context of sexualised drug use, online sex apps and changing social norms around sex, the authors assert that PrEP offers an important additional preventative option that can be tailored to the changing needs of men who have sex with men (MSM).

Results from the PROUD trial, published in The Lancet in 2015, indicated that PrEP reduced HIV acquisition by 86%, with no infections among participants taking PrEP at the likely time of exposure. The PROUD trial details and findings can be viewed here.

In the main trial analysis, although a larger proportion of those allocated to the immediate arm reported receptive condomless sex than those in the deferred arm, there was no statistically significant increase in STIs for those taking PrEP versus those not taking it. The conclusion from the trial was that PrEP is a highly effective tool for preventing new HIV infections and does not necessarily contribute to an increase of other STIs.