Luh Gede PRADNYAWATI, Made Indra WIJAYA, Ni Ketut SUTIARI, Luh Seri ANI, Pande Putu JANURAGA
Perinatal Journal - 2026;34(2):361-370
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is still a global and national public health challenge. Effective HIV prevention requires a multi-sectoral approach and diverse interventions to reach both at-risk groups and the general population. This exploratory study aims to understand the barriers faced by the general population in Pasar Badung, Denpasar City, in using PrEP as an HIV prevention effort. This research is exploratory research using a mix-methods design and consisted of two stages. First was the qualitative stage involving 25 informants using a purposive sampling technique, followed by the second quantitative stage involving 250 respondents. This research refers to the behavioral theory of the Health Belief Model and the PRECEDE model, and showed that the biggest barriers to PrEP adoption among Badung Market traders are multidimensional, with the stigma of "HIV drugs" as the dominant barrier, which strengthens other barriers such as fear of side effects, long hours of work, and concerns about being seen by others while taking the drug. This is reinforced by quantitative results, which showed that the reasons why respondents did not receive PrEP were mostly worried about the side effects of PrEP of 78.5%, and distrust of the use of PrEP, 63.8%. There is a need to strengthen more comprehensive education to reposition PrEP as a preventative drug and not as a drug for people with HIV to reduce stigma through normalizing services and also increasing trust in the PrEP program in HIV prevention.
