IRMA Survey on Lubes Used for Anal Sex: Preliminary Results National HIV Prevention Conference December 3, Atlanta Marc-André LeBlanc, IRMA Jim Pickett, IRMA Marjan Javanbakht MPH, PhD, UCLA Ryan Murphy MPH, UCLA Pamina Gorbach, M.H.S, Dr.P.H., UCLA

Who we are, why we did this   IRMA = 500 advocates and scientists from 38 countries on 6 continents united in support of research and development for safe and effective rectal microbicides for the women and men around the world who need them. Visit IRMWG.org.   IRMA launched this survey because   Need to test lubes for rectal safety   Need to know most popular lubes   Acceptabilty to inform development

Survey Information   Internet-based Survey   Survey Monkey with e-promotion   Ran 29 weeks: Feb 14 th 2007 – August 31 st 2007   6 languages (EN/FR/SP/POR/GER/TUR)   8,945 Responses from 107 countries   6,273 reported AI within the past 6 months (70.1%)   Analysis by UCLA

And the survey says …   Most commonly used lubes for anal sex   How lubes are used   Preferred lube characteristics Useful for informing research & development and programming

Demographics - Age

Demographics - Gender

Demographics - Region

Demographics - Language

Caveats   Given demographics, note influence of   Men (92%)   English-language (81%)   North America (70%) on broad overview of results.

Condom use by sex act

Reasons for not using lubricant

Flavor, color & smell preferences

Lubricant consistency preference

Lubricant dispenser preference

Lubricant base preferences

Does application of lube interrupt sex?

Substances added to lubricant

Conclusions   Low condom use, but lube use is relatively common   High acceptability of RMs formulated as lubes?   No flavour, colour or smell   Consistency: Both thick and liquid   Base: both water and silicone   Take into account saliva, water and vaginal fluid

Next Steps   Finish analysis   Age, gender, region, language   Translation and qualitative analysis   Most commonly used lubes   Disseminate results   Work with researchers to test lube safety and integrate findings around acceptability and preferred characteristics

Using web-based surveys   Reaches hidden or difficult-to- reach populations   Facilitates openness and disclosure on sensitive issues   Low research costs BUT   How representative?   Limited to settings and populations that are online

Deep appreciation to:   UCLA for assistance with survey development and analysis   IRMA members and partners for promoting survey   Translators for extending the reach of the survey   All survey respondents!

And thanks to you

IRMA     Marc-André LeBlanc   Jim Pickett UCLA   Ryan Murphy   Marjan Javanbakht   Pamina Gorbach Stay in touch