BACKGROUND Knowledge and uptake of high-efficacy HIV Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention strategies such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Treatment as Prevention (TasP) remain low among men who have sex with men (MSM) at highest risk for HIV infection in the United States. Electronic Health (eHealth) interventions are promising tools for disseminating information about these critical yet underutilized strategies and addressing key barriers to uptake among target populations. However,

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... xisting HIV prevention websites are understudied and unevaluated. OBJECTIVE This paper systematically reviews and evaluates existing HIV websites that include information about PrEP and/or TasP for MSM. METHODS From March to May 2018, two trained research assistants (RAs) entered relevant key words and phrases into three commonly-used search engines and applied exclusion criteria to all returned results to identify 31 websites included in this review. RAs independently scored each website for authority, usability, interactivity, and PrEP-/TasP-related content based on a standardized rating scale then averaged the results. RESULTS No website received a perfect score in any of the four categories and the average website score was 61.61% (36.97 out of 60 points). Fewer than a quarter of the websites (22.5%; 7 out of 31 websites) received a score of more than 75% for content. Roughly two-thirds of the websites (64.52%; 20 out of 31 websites) received a score of 50% or lower for interactivity. The average score in usability was 67.90% (6.79 out of 10 points) and in authority was 68.55% (6.90 out of 10 points). Other deficiencies observed included difficulty locating relevant content and lack of tailoring towards high-risk audiences. CONCLUSIONS Existing HIV prevention websites with information about PrEP and/or TasP for MSM fail to provide adequate content as well as present that content to users in an interactive and audience-conscious way. Future eHealth interventions should attempt to rectify these deficiencies in order to successfully engage and educate MSM at high-risk for HIV regarding prevention strategies. CLINICALTRIAL NCT03404531