Abstract
The United States’ Federal Government has goals to Diagnose, Treat, Prevent, and Respond to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. A key component of HIV prevention is pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Latinx men who have sex with men (LMSM) is a priority population, that has not fully benefitted from PrEP. LMSM in South Florida have an elevated vulnerability due to the high HIV rate in this area. Using an intersectionality perspective, this Dissertation explored how LMSM’s PrEP stigma and current PrEP use were related to the following factors: marginalized identities (socioeconomic status and race), Latinx cultural values, age, mental health, and self-perceived loneliness. The relationship between these factors were explored in three papers: paper 1 explored the relationship between marginalized identities, Latinx cultural values, age, and PrEP stigma; paper 2 examined the relationship between marginalized identities, PrEP stigma, Latinx cultural values, and current PrEP use; and paper 3 investigated the relationship between marginalized identities, mental health conditions, self-perceived loneliness, and current PrEP use. Associations were assessed through logistic regression analyses some of which included interaction terms. Results indicated that marginalized identities and the Latinx cultural value of familism support were associated with an increased probability of perceiving PrEP stigma (paper 1). Unexpectedly, perceiving PrEP stigma was associated with an increased probability of current PrEP use (paper 2). Whereas, for LMSM as age increased the probability of perceiving PrEP stigma decreased (paper 1). These results underscore the heterogeneity of the LMSM community that should be addressed in tailored PrEP programs.