“It’s Not Secret—It’s Not Advertised” – Content, Format, and Platform Preferences to Promote PrEP Use in the Southern United States

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) in the Southern United States (US) experience high HIV incidence yet have relatively lower HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake, especially among GBM of color. Despite awareness, PrEP use remains insufficient to meaningfully impact the HIV epidemic in the Southern US. PrEP promotions largely focus on PrEP messaging, especially product awareness. Theory-based health promotion research has not explored how to develop promotions that drive PrEP uptake. To close this gap, we explored preferences among GBM in the Southern US for promotion content, format, and platform. Grounded in Andersen's Model, we conducted semi-structured interviews with HIV-negative GBM, aged 18-39 years, and used inductive and deductive coding for thematic analysis to develop themes and sub-themes to understand promotion preferences. Forty GBM (68% Black, 10% Latino, 53% not using PrEP) completed interviews. Three major themes emerged: (1) content beyond promoting PrEP awareness, (2) using digital devices and media access for promoting PrEP, and (3) platforms for PrEP promotion. GBM in this study preferred digital promotion of PrEP, focusing on access, safety, and effectiveness that is delivered discreetly; promotion in the non-digital space could normalize PrEP use. Creating promotions that address these themes will make promotions more relevant to drive uptake of PrEP in the Southern US.