Preference for HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Access Among Men who Have Sex With Men in China: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Background: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective but not widely used by men who have sex with men (MSM; 27%) in China.

Methods: In June 2023, an online cross-sectional survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was distributed to PrEP-eligible MSM in China who were at least 18 years old. The DCE explored attributes of PrEP modality (daily pill, on-demand pill, injections, implants), clinical care model (same-day, 2-visit, telehealth prescription), medication pickup (clinic, community health center, pharmacy, MSM-focused community-based organization, home delivery), enhanced support (self-management, smartphone app, text reminder, anonymous peer support group), and cost.

Results: A total of 1013 MSM completed the survey; the average age was 31 years, and a quarter had used PrEP. The most influential attributes were cost (relative importance: 64.6%), followed by PrEP modality (27.7%), medication pickup (4.0%), enhanced support (3.5%), and clinical care model (0.2%). The most preferred ways to access PrEP were no-cost on-demand pill, medication home delivery, self-management, and telehealth. The predicted uptake of on-demand PrEP was higher than other modalities, increasing from 22% with no subsidy to 79% with full subsidy, holding the other 3 attributes constant.

Conclusions: Chinese MSM have strong preferences regarding accessing PrEP: Low cost is a critical priority, especially important because medication and clinical care are currently entirely unsubsidized in China. Preferences for on-demand PrEP and home delivery indicate methods that the health care system can utilize to best meet the needs of MSM and factors that should be incorporated into future interventions.