AEGiS-13IAC: Designing appropriate HIV prevention materials based on studies of back room for men who have sex with men (MSM) in Mexico City.

13th International AIDS Conference

Durban, South Africa - July 9-July 14, 2000

Designing appropriate HIV prevention materials based on studies of back room for men who have sex with men (MSM) in Mexico City.

Int Conf AIDS 2000 Jul 9-14; 13:(abstract no. ThOrD684)

Luna-Cardena A, Saavedra-Lopez J, Mejia-Fonseca H, Egremy-Men di vil G, Uribe-Zuniga P, Moncada M
A. Luna-Cardena, Astronomos # 38-1, Col. Escandon, Mexico D.F. 11800, Mexico, Tel.: +52 527 373 08, Fax: +52 551 555 83, E-mail: anuar_luna@hotmail.com

ISSUES: Although the HIV epidemic in Mexico illustrates a mixed pattern of HIV infections, the predominant source of HIV infection is sexual and nearly 90% of infections are found in men. MSM still represent the highest proportion of infected persons in Mexico. Backrooms are closed social spaces that allow for anonymous sexual encounter in dark environments. High risk activity is possible. The patrons of darkrooms, moreover, represent a captive audience for HIV prevention messages.

DESCRIPTION: This project had four phases: needs assessment, design and production of education strategies and materials, implementation and evaluation. The needs assessment used rapid assessment procedures and community social research, both qualitative and quantitative, to gather information on the environment as well as the beliefs, attitudes, and sexual practices of patrons. This information was then analyzed and used as the base to design education strategies destined for MSM in the backrooms of Mexico City. Three videos were produced: on condom use, anal intercourse and oral sex contacts. During a 6-month period, the videos were shown (each one over two months) in 7 sites with back rooms. At the end of each period, focus grups and a survey on reactions including indicators for behavior change was carried out to evaluate the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: This project increased the knowledge of backroom environments, and patrons including demographics such as age, education, and geographic and socio-economic factors. It provided valuable information on social interactions and sexual practices. It identified associated risk factors, such as self-esteem and alcohol use, for further investigation. It was used as the basis for designing and implementing HIV prevention campaigns in backrooms where MSM meet in Mexico City. These campaigns got a positive response, and evaluations gave indications that they had contributed to affecting behavior change and rovided feedback for further prevention interventions.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Coitus, Safe Sex, Sex Behavior, HIV Infections, Risk Factors, HIV Seropositivity, Cities, Disease Outbreaks, Data Collection, Mexico, Human, Male, prevention & control
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