# Preparing to Implement PrEP Among High-Risk Men in China

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS · 2020 · $193,041

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY AND ABSTRACT
 In China, there has been a continuous and persistent rise in the number of reported HIV cases among
MSM. The Chinese government has recently demonstrated a strong political will to scale up evidence-based
HIV programs and to implement innovative biomedical interventions to control HIV transmission in China. The
Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to commence a national pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PrEP) initiative during the next few years. In light of the evolving science of PrEP, including
potential new modes of PrEP delivery and repeated findings on low PrEP uptake among key populations, there
is urgent need to build a strong scientific foundation about strategies to maximize PrEP's future implementation
with MSM in China. We will apply a mixed-methods approach using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Our fieldwork will be undertaken in Nanjing, China. The proposed research study linearly extends our past and
ongoing MSM HIV research in China. We will collect two-mode affiliation network data with 300 MSM (Phase
1). Based on the results of two-mode affiliation network analysis, we will identify individual MSM and
stakeholders from physical and/or virtual spaces who hold network structurally central positions for qualitative
in-depth interviews to assess implementation barriers and facilitators for PrEP (Phase 2). Findings will directly
inform PrEP implementation policy and research at both the local and national levels in China. The nation's
future PrEP promotion program could increase its impact by targeting the structurally central places where risk-
taking MSM frequent. Furthermore, we will use findings to support a subsequent application for a larger-scale
trial to test the effectiveness of a tailored implementation strategy to deliver PrEP to HIV negative, high-risk
MSM (including examining different PrEP delivery modalities such as pill, transdermal and injectable
formulations). Findings from this proposed research will provide important groundwork to inform future PrEP
implementation in China and may also help create responses to the escalating HIV epidemics among MSM in
a wide range of countries.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9984535
- **Project number:** 5R21MH118945-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Cui Yang
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $193,041
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9984535

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9984535, Preparing to Implement PrEP Among High-Risk Men in China (5R21MH118945-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9984535. Licensed CC0.

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