Facilities and HIV prevention in bathhouse and sex club environments

This project evaluated the extent to which businesses with a primary purpose of providing opportunities for sexual encounters between men (e.g., bathhouses and sex clubs) have implemented strategies that target their customers with important HIV and STD prevention messages. Between October 1996 and February 1997, we conducted structured telephone interviews with 63 businesses throughout the United States in order to describe their facilities and their HIV education and prevention efforts. Types of facilities offered were related to what businesses called themselves and the kinds of sex space they provided. All of the businesses reported that they provided condoms and lubricant on site; 95% provided educational materials such as posters and flyers about HIV/AIDS; and 40% provided HIV testing on site, with half of these also providing some type of STD testing. Although some level of HIV prevention and educational efforts by these businesses are described, further investigation into their efficacy is required.