Abstract
Abstract: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can alleviate anxiety about acquiring HIV, particularly for gay men and other men who have sex with men. However, research with PrEP providers has rarely examined HIV anxiety. We conducted 25 semistructured interviews in 2019-2020 with PrEP providers in New South Wales and Western Australia, and analyzed data thematically. Participants included general practitioners and sexual health nurses and doctors. Our analysis explores providers' views on providing PrEP to reduce HIV anxiety for gay men, serodiscordant couples where the partner with HIV has an undetectable viral load, and for "worried well" individuals who the providers speculated might have undisclosed risk. Although providers viewed PrEP as beneficial for many people's personal lives and relationships, they felt cautious about prescribing PrEP solely for HIV anxiety, while at the same time reporting that they prescribed PrEP if individuals insisted on it and had no medical contraindications.