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Australian Gay and Bisexual Men Who Use Condoms, PrEP or Rarely Practise HIV Risk Reduction with Casual Sex Partners: An Analysis of National, Behavioural Surveillance Data, 2017–2018

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Abstract

Recent increases in the availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) internationally have widened the range of HIV prevention strategies available to gay and bisexual men. This paper aimed to quantify the use of different risk reduction strategies and compare characteristics of men who rarely use any strategies with those who regularly use condoms or PrEP. Using national cross-sectional data from the Gay Community Periodic Surveys in Australia, comparisons were made between regular condom users (37.1% of participants), PrEP users (50.1%), and men who infrequently used any risk reduction strategies (12.8%). The proportion of gay and bisexual men reporting infrequent use of HIV risk reduction strategies has decreased in recent years. These men reported less frequent high-risk sexual practices than PrEP users and also reported less recent HIV testing than either PrEP or condom users. Men who infrequently use HIV risk reduction strategies should be encouraged to test for HIV more regularly and to utilise prevention strategies that align with their infrequent high-risk behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

The Centre for Social Research in Health and The Kirby Institute receive funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The Gay Community Periodic Surveys are funded by state and territory health departments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Timothy R. Broady, Limin Mao & Martin Holt

  2. Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Benjamin R. Bavinton & Garrett Prestage

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  1. Timothy R. Broady
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  2. Benjamin R. Bavinton
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  3. Limin Mao
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  5. Martin Holt
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Correspondence to Timothy R. Broady.

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Broady, T.R., Bavinton, B.R., Mao, L. et al. Australian Gay and Bisexual Men Who Use Condoms, PrEP or Rarely Practise HIV Risk Reduction with Casual Sex Partners: An Analysis of National, Behavioural Surveillance Data, 2017–2018. AIDS Behav 24, 3501–3510 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02928-9

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