Health professionals’ perceptions of young men seeking sexual post-exposure prophylaxis (Sexual PEP): Challenges for health care

Abstract

Sexual Post-exposure prophylaxis (SexualPEP); a medical treatment to prevent HIV/Aids, began to be used in Brazil in 2010. Considering that young men are particularly vulnerable to HIV, this study explores health professionals’ perceptions of sexual behavior and risk management in this group in the context of seeking and using SexualPEP. We conducted a qualitative study using a conceptual framework based on health care, masculinities and youthfulness. Nineteen health professionals from five specialist services in five different cities (São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Fortaleza) participated in the study. The findings reveal the centrality of judgments and attempts to control the sexuality of young people based on the stereotypical notion of deviation, negatively affecting professional-patient relations and consequently constituting a significant technological barrier to health care.