Prevalence of U\u2009=\u2009U Awareness and Its Association with Anticipated HIV Stigma Among Low-Income Heterosexually Active Black and Latino Adults in New York City, 2019.

Abstract

The fact that people with HIV (PWH) who have an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV has been disseminated under the messaging Undetectable\u2009=\u2009Untransmittable (U\u2009=\u2009U). U\u2009=\u2009U messaging intends to destigmatize HIV by demonstrating that PWH can have healthy sexual lives. Among a sample of low-income heterosexually active Black and Latino adults, we aimed to (1) measure the prevalence of U\u2009=\u2009U awareness and (2) determine its association with anticipated HIV stigma. Low-income heterosexually active adults were recruited through respondent-driven sampling in New York City. Among Black and Latino participants who self-reported not having HIV, multiple linear regression was used to determine the association between U\u2009=\u2009U awareness with the following types of anticipated HIV stigma, as determined by principal component analyses: (1) general; (2) dating related; and (3) sex related. Of 485 participants, 35% were aware of U\u2009=\u2009U. Those who were aware reported less dating-related (adjusted B: -0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.37 to -0.03) and sex-related (adjusted B: -0.15; 95% CI: -0.29 to -0.002) anticipated HIV stigma. Although the prevalence of U\u2009=\u2009U awareness was much lower than reported in other populations (e.g., gender and sexual minorities and PWH), prevalence was moderate in our sample, given that awareness efforts have generally not focused on heterosexually active adults. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that U\u2009=\u2009U awareness may have an impact on anticipated HIV stigma related to dating and sex. Additional methods to disseminate U\u2009=\u2009U messaging and dismantle HIV stigma in this population should be explored.