Transgender women and men who have sex with men (MSM) have been eager to participate in the U.S. PrEP Demonstration Project, a real-world study of Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis. Publishing these findings in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, researchers are conducting this ongoing prospective, open-label cohort study in sexually transmitted infection clinics in San Francisco, Miami and Washington, DC.

Of 1,069 people screened for the study, 921 were potentially eligible and 557 (60.5 percent) enrolled. Ninety-eight percent of the participants were MSM. Upon their entry into the study, 63.5 percent reported having condomless anal intercourse during the previous three months.

After factoring out various elements, the researchers found that some subgroups were more likely than others to enroll in the study. When compared with those in San Francisco, participants in Miami were 53 percent more likely to enroll and those in Washington were 33 percent more likely. When compared with those who were referred to the study, those who came in on their own were 48 percent more likely to enroll. When compared with those who were not previously aware of PrEP, those who were aware were 56 percent more likely to enroll. And when compared with those who reported zero or one act of condomless anal intercourse with an HIV-positive partner during the previous month, those who reported more than one such act were 20 percent more likely to enroll.
 
To read the study abstract, click here.