Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41979102›Full record

ArticleThe Medical journal of Australia2026

Awareness, Usage and Perceptions of Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (doxyPEP) for Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Australia: Insights From a National Cross-Sectional Survey.

Phyu Mon Latt, Ei T Aung, Kate Maddaford, Kai J Jonas, Christopher K Fairley, Sarah J Martin, Carole Khaw, Rick Varma, Caroline Thng, Manoji Gunathilake and 12 more

Erratum issuedAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in The Medical journal of Australia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Phyu Mon LattMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5880-5731
Ei T AungMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2560-3233
Kate MaddafordMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Kai J JonasMaastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Christopher K FairleyMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Sarah J MartinCanberra Sexual Health Centre, Canberra Health Services, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Carole KhawAdelaide Sexual Health Centre, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Rick VarmaSydney Sexual Health Centre, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Caroline ThngSexual Health Services, Gold Coast Health, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Manoji GunathilakeKirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Vincent J CornelisseMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0657-9677
Haoyi WangMaastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Teralynn LudwickCentre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Ethan T CardwellCentre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Michael W TraegerMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Catriona S BradshawMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Dash Heath-PaynterKirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Benjamin RileyAustralasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Daniel GraceUniversity of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Fabian Y S KongCentre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9349-3080
Eric P F ChowMonash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1766-0657
DoxyAWARE Study Group

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council GNT1172873National Health and Medical Research Council GNT1172900National Health and Medical Research Council GNT1173361National Health and Medical Research Council GNT2033078National Health and Medical Research Council GNT2033299
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine the awareness, usage and perceptions of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) for sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention among gay and bisexual men and transgender (trans) and gender diverse people in Australia.

designCross-sectional online survey. SETTING,

participantsNational multi-site survey in Australia from 1 July 2024 to 30 November 2024, recruiting from 13 sexual health and community clinics, 6 general practices, social media, dating applications, and university portals. Gay and bisexual men and trans and gender diverse people aged ≥ 18 years living in Australia were included in the study.

main outcome measuresDoxyPEP awareness, ever use, recent use (past 12 months), dosage regimens, sourcing methods and planned future use.

resultsAmong 2095 participants, half (1080/2095, 51.6%) had heard of doxyPEP. Of those aware, 323/1080 (29.9%) had ever used doxyPEP, and 306/1080 (28.3%) were recent users. DoxyPEP awareness and usage varied by HIV status and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use (p < 0.0001). Nearly two-thirds of users had taken the recommended 200 mg within 72 h after sex (205/323, 63.5%). Among recent users, 29/306 (9.5%) reported recent syphilis diagnoses, and 85/306 (27.8%) had ≥ 2 STI diagnoses in the past 12 months. Of those who had ever used doxyPEP, 135/323 (41.8%) obtained prescriptions from clinicians, 17/323 (5.3%) obtained it online, and 28/323 (8.7%) purchased it in person overseas without a prescription. Of those aware of doxyPEP, 490/1080 (45.4%) planned to use doxyPEP in the next 12 months, primarily to prevent chlamydia (460/490, 93.9%), gonorrhoea (422/490, 86.1%) or syphilis (386/490, 78.8%). Some intended to prevent Mycoplasma genitalium (92/490, 18.8%) or mpox (36/490, 7.4%). Among non-users, 306/756 (40.5%) worried about antibiotic resistance.

conclusionsDoxyPEP use was happening quickly but often involved non-recommended regimens and unsupervised sourcing. Urgent educational interventions and improved clinical access are needed for safe implementation.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsDoxycyclineHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticePost-Exposure ProphylaxisSexually Transmitted DiseasesAdolescentAdultAustraliaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHomosexuality, MaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesTransgender PersonsAnti-Bacterial AgentsDoxycyclineantimicrobial resistancebacterial infectionsdoxycycline post‐exposure prophylaxisgay, bisexual and men who have sex with mensexually transmitted diseases

Identifiers

PMID41979102
PMCPMC13077732

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.