Table III.

Supportive significant statements from focus groups

Emerging Theme	Significant statements	Group
1. Motivation to use PrEP	1. “Not only did I feel like I was potentially doing something beneficial to me, but also because I was helping the larger community.”	PE
	2. “I know that I have at risk sex with men and they could possibly be HIV infected, and if there’s this drug and I take it every day, it’s going to give me a good probability of not getting HIV, then I’m going to take it every day.”	PN
2. Barriers to PrEP	3. “I have problems with anxiety and insomnia. When it was at its worst, it was when I couldn’t take the medication.”	PE
	4. “Drugs and alcohol would be a barrier, as well as side effects from taking PrEP.”	PN
	5. “Substance abuse is a barrier. I think if the medication is going to be prescribed to someone, then the prescriber should know if they have substance abuse. So, if you want the medication to work you have to go through substance abuse counseling.”	PN
	6. “I think if I had to pay for it at all, I probably wouldn’t take it.”	PE
	7. “Truvada is a medication for people who are HIV, right? If somebody finds out you’re taking Truvada, they’re going to think you’re HIV.”	PN
	8. “Some people aren’t “out” to their provider, let alone telling them ‘I’m engaged in risky sexual behaviors.’ I think those conversations don’t happen very often.”	PE
3. Facilitators of PrEP	9. “I have a double ritual, which is at night I take the pill out and I put it by the bed, so in the morning, I remember to take it.”	PE
	10. “I travel with it, so if I was going to work, I’d put it in a bag with vitamins and have a couple extra, because if I forgot it at home, I would take it at work.”	PE
	11. “You could have phone calls, or emails, telling you to take it, just automatically generated on a daily basis.”	PN
	12. “A daily text saying, “Have you taken your Truvada today?”	PE
	13. “I would set an alarm on my watch to remember to take it.”	PE
4. Sexual decision-making	14. “The first thing that comes to mind when I hear about a pill such as that would be that I could push the condom aside and I can have this pill, so if something goes wrong this is the contraceptive.”	PN
	15. “I think it allows you to be less cautious…try it with someone that you probably wouldn’t be with normally – be with them rather than wait for the next person that you really want to be with.”	PE
	16. “One of my biggest fears is not the sex that I have control of, but the sex I don’t have control of, so if my partner is out and about without me, taking risks, and then bringing that home.”	PN
	17. “I’m thinking to myself, if I fell in love with somebody who was HIV-positive, and I was a “bottom,” that PrEP would be perfect for me. It would allow us to have a little bit less stress around our intimacy. And, I’m not saying we shouldn’t still be safe.”	PN
5. PrEP education information	18. “I think there needs to be more education about how it (PrEP) affects our health. I read an article and it wasn’t clear to me. I wasn’t convinced that this really can benefit the community.”	PN
	19. “I don’t think that there was enough PrEP education on like long-term side effects and like injures to your body, such as osteoporosis and stuff like that.”	PE
	20. “PrEP is only available during the study. Beyond the study, we won’t receive it. We need to know what to do after the study if we want to continue taking it.	PE
6. PrEP delivery personnel	21. “When you go to the hospital, you might see a doctor that doesn’t know anything about AIDS drugs or is not familiar with the type of drug that you’re on. You want somebody that would understand the drug and understand its ramifications.”	PE
	22. “I have a very strong relationship with my primary care physician, so I think PrEP and the counseling I get from him would be much better received than from a total stranger.”	PN

PrEP = pre-exposure prophylaxis; PE = PrEP experienced; PN = PrEP Naïve