Gay Men Aren’t Finding Out About PrEP from Their Doctors

Few people who are at risk of HIV infections--including gay and bisexual men--know about PrEP, the drug that can reduce the risk of becoming infected.

Just as scary, those who are aware of PrEP, also sold as the drug Tuvada, find out about the medicine not from doctors or health care professionals, but the Internet.

The California HIV/AIDS Research Program found that, among young gay and bisexual men who were aware of PrEP, more than half (56.7 percent) found out about the drug over social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Grindr. The other frequent sources were the Internet, a friend, or a sexual partner.

Only 12.6 percent of the men surveyed said they learned about PrEP from a doctor.

While the Internet is a great tool for queer and questioning men, information about PrEP found online is often not comprehensive. When the surveyed men were presented with medical information about PrEP, 55.9 percent reported they were extremely or very likely to start taking the drug.