Table 2.
Factor Loadings of Barriers and Facilitators to Using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Gay and Bisexual Men (n = 786)
| Factor loadingsa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health benefits | Social benefits | Health consequences | Social consequences | |
| Scale items retainedb,c | ||||
| Taking PrEP would make me feel more in control of my sexual health | 0.83 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would be a reason to get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections more often | 0.67 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would be an extra layer of protection against HIV | 0.77 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP seems like the responsible thing to do | 0.87 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP seems like the “normal” thing for an HIV-negative guy to do | 0.64 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would help me protect my sexual partners from HIV | 0.74 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP makes testing for STIs part of routine health care (as opposed to only getting screened when something is wrong) | 0.63 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would help me discuss my sexual health with my medical provider | 0.61 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would make me feel like I am doing my part to control the HIV epidemic | 0.83 | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would mean I have more freedom to decide when to use and not use condoms | — | 0.69 | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would help me feel less inhibited and “let go” | — | 0.70 | — | — |
| Taking PrEP means I no longer have to worry about asking my partner's HIV status | — | 0.62 | — | — |
| I may experience some side effects from PrEP | — | — | 0.77 | — |
| I may experience long-term health consequences from PrEP | — | — | 0.83 | — |
| I may develop resistance to certain HIV medications if I were to become HIV+ while taking PrEP | — | — | 0.68 | — |
| PrEP might not provide complete protection against HIV | — | — | 0.69 | — |
| People may think I'm HIV+ if they see that I'm taking HIV medications as PrEP | — | — | — | 0.84 |
| People may stereotype me if they know I'm on PrEP | — | — | — | 0.82 |
| Doctors may think I'm HIV+ if I tell them I'm taking PrEP | — | — | — | 0.86 |
| I don't want my medical record to show that I've been on PrEP | — | — | — | 0.61 |
| Scale items removedb,c | ||||
| Taking PrEP would help me to worry less about HIV | — | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would make me feel more sexually confident | — | — | — | — |
| I would enjoy sex more if I were on PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would make me less worried about having sex with men who are HIV+ | — | — | — | — |
| Telling guys I'm on PrEP would mean not having to discuss HIV any further | — | — | — | — |
| Taking PrEP would make me feel like part of a community | — | — | — | — |
| I would have to go to the doctor every 3 months to take PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| I may have to discuss my sex life with a doctor to get PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| I would have to remember to take a pill every day if I'm on PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| I'd still have to use condoms if I took PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| PrEP doesn't prevent other sexually transmitted infections | — | — | — | — |
| I don't know how to get the costs of PrEP covered | — | — | — | — |
| PrEP would feel like too much of a commitment | — | — | — | — |
| I'm worried I might stop using condoms if I were on PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| I don't think my behavior is risky enough to need PrEP | — | — | — | — |
| Percentage of total variance | 29.36% | 4.21% | 13.58% | 6.26% |
a
Pattern matrix loadings using principal axis factoring.
b
Response categories: “not at all important” to “extremely important”.
c
Scale items with factor loadings less than 0.600 are not reported for interpretation ease.
PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis.