How Status Quo Bias Shapes Willingness, Uptake, and Adherence to PrEP Among Chinese MSM: A Behavioral Economics Perspective.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Implementing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is hindered by a significant "PrEP Cliff", a sharp decline from willingness to uptake and adherence. This study aimed to integrate status quo bias theory with a dual-process model, seeking to understand how this bias influences the PrEP cascade among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1022 MSM across six provinces in China from November 2024 to February 2025. Through regression models, we tested a moderated mediation framework to examine how status quo bias influenced PrEP willingness, uptake, and adherence, focusing on the mediating role of PrEP resistance intention and the moderating role of condom-use inertia.

Results

Participants were generally you

SUBMITTER: Zhao M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12924801 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature