Photo Credit: Amenic181

While most sexual minority men (SMM) had favorable reactions to “Undetectable=Untransmittable” (U=U) messaging about HIV transmission, there are many who remain skeptical, according to findings published in JAIDS. Sarah K. Calabrese, PhD, and colleagues surveyed SMM with HIV (n=106) and HIV-negative/status-unknown SMM (n=351) randomly assigned to one of three messaging conditions. Messages varied by level of HIV sexual transmission risk associated with an undetectable viral load (no risk [U=U]; low risk; control). In the no risk condition, common reactions were enthusiasm (40.0%), skepticism/disagreement (20.0%), and agreement (19.4%), comparable to comparison conditions. More participants in the HIV-negative/status-unknown group expressed skepticism/disagreement in the no risk condition (24.1%) versus other conditions (3.2% to 9.7%). People with HIV were more likely to distinguish all messages as accurate. In the no risk condition, common reasons for seeing inaccuracy were risk misstated (46.1%), oversimplified/caveats needed (17.1%), and personal unfamiliarity/uncertainty (14.5%), comparable to comparison conditions. Across conditions, 10.3% of participants attributed message inaccuracy to an incorrect definition of undetectable. “Interventions are needed to enhance U=U understanding and acceptance,” Dr. Calabrese and colleagues wrote.