How does one start to take PrEP? The first step is to talk to a doctor or a healthcare provider. After consultations and various medical tests, the individual and their healthcare provider might agree that PrEP might help; thus, the next step is to get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and assess if the person's kidneys are working well. If the person believes that PrEP is the better option, the healthcare provider will provide them with a prescription. However, as discussed below, different motivating factors may compel a person to start taking PrEP, including external and internal factors and beliefs about the pill's benefits.
The timing of the public health nurses' suggestion to start taking PrEP was a major deciding factor for many people. Participants highlighted that when PrEP was brought up in dialogue, they were in a good enough position to explore this intervention. According to some studies, the readiness of most people without insurance to use PrEP tends to be dependent on external factors, including insurance coverage or the rising acceptance of PrEP in their sexual and social circles, which altered their opinions about initiating PrEP.
Their reasons for initiating PrEP seem context-dependent and dependent on life variables, which is noteworthy in these remarks. While evaluations comparing risk behaviors against the expense of PrEP constituted the deciding reason for initiation for some individuals, the rising increase of PrEP among their friends or sexual partners encouraged them to "consider taking it."
Other individuals talks with medical providers during follow-up visits for STIs or regular screenings, which catalyze starting PrEP. Although they may have thought about taking PrEP, these people did not actively seek it out until nurses brought it up in conversations about their sexual health. Some individuals who had previously shown ambivalence may begin to think about "getting on board with PrEP" as a result.
Similarly, other external factors, including a quick chat about PrEP between a willing individual and their healthcare providers, have inspired their motivation to use the pill. For instance, some people had reported that when they disclosed that their partners lacked preference for protection but had a reasonably active sex life, their nurses proposed PrEP to them, making the start of their journey with the medicine.
In these responses, a brief shift in perspective from when the PrEP discussion was brought up gave some individuals a chance to "consider PrEP" to improve their safety and lower their risk of contracting HIV. Despite their opinions on their overall degree of risk, including screening for STIs, people who had initially been skeptical of PrEP were persuaded to look into this treatment after being offered the medicine by nurses when they turned up for sexual health counseling.
Some individuals have spoken about the concerns for their health as the driving force for their decision to take PrEP. In some studies, some people have reported that they felt that "PrEP would be something "they" would benefit from" as a result of the "anxiety" and "concern" that some people voiced over the possible transmission of HIV during a sexual encounter. For instance, some individuals report having engaged in unprotected sexual activity with a stranger. After a brief dialogue about their sexual history, it was evident that it was not the "stranger" s first experience with unprotected sex. Consequently, they had to research PrEP, leading them to visit a health facility for a consultation.
Such remarks indicate that the experience of using PEP compels such individuals to reconsider their potential degree of danger. For these individuals, a "rare occurrence" of condom-free receptive anal contact or "unknowing exposure" to HIV causes a change in perspective on the efficacy of their current risk-reduction measures and, thus, their attitude toward PrEP.
Moreover, other people have admitted that they became motivated to use PrEP after reflecting on the degree of risk that may be present in their sexual behavior. After giving some thought to their sexual behavior and the potential health risks it could carry, these people decided to utilize PrEP. For instance, a person who has drug and drinking problems will not care much about protecting themselves during that moment. Therefore, for some, it becomes a mixture of reasons that lead them to believe that taking PrEP is necessary for their health, especially when struggling with the ability to manage their sex impulsivity.