Psychometric Evaluation of a Revised Instrument for Assessing HIV Knowledge Among SGM Men

Accurate assessment of general HIV and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) knowledge is essential for evaluating contemporary prevention efforts. This study examined the psychometric properties of a revised HIV and PrEP knowledge instrument for young sexual and gender minority (SGM) men. Data were collected from 1,519 participants (ages 17-29) via an online survey. Of the original 31 items, 7 were removed based on item analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted on the remaining 24 items. EFA supported a two-factor structure-18 items assessing general HIV knowledge and 6 assessing PrEP knowledge-with acceptable model fit (RMSEA = 0.06) and strong factor loadings (0.32). The instrument demonstrated measurement invariance across major racial/ethnic groups, moderate to strong item-total correlations (≥0.30), and acceptable internal consistency for both subscales. Findings validate this 24-item, two-factor instrument as a reliable tool for assessing HIV and PrEP knowledge among SGM men.