Research

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Sexual health
Volume 224 - Issue 4

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

Authors:  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, Vincent J. Cornelisse, Haoyi Wang, Teralynn Ludwick, Ethan T. Cardwell, Michael W. Traeger, Catriona S. Bradshaw, Dash Heath-Paynter, Benjamin Riley, Daniel Grace, Fabian Y. S. Kong, Eric P. F. Chow

Correspondence: phyumon.latt@monash.edu

Med J Aust 2026 || doi: 10.5694/mja2.70180
Published online: 14 April 2026
Correction(s) for this article:

Erratum | Published online: 19 May 2026

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Abstract

Objective

To 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.

Design

Cross-sectional online survey.

Setting, Participants

National 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 ≥18years living in Australia were included in the study.

Main Outcome Measures

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

Results

Among 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 200mg within 72h 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 12months. 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 12months, 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.

Conclusions

DoxyPEP 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.

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