Effectiveness of HIV Prevention in Ontario, Canada: A Multilevel Comparison of Bisexual Men

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) 2004-07, Vol.94 (7), p.1181-1185
• Main Authors: Leaver, Chad A, Allman, Dan, Meyers, Ted, Veugelers, Paul J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Adult; AIDS; Biological and medical sciences; Bisexuality; Bisexuality - psychology; Bisexuality - statistics & numerical data; Community Health Services - organization & administration; Data Collection - methods; Disease prevention; Divorce; Effectiveness studies; Female; Females; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Services Research - methods; Heterosexuality; HIV; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Medical tests; Men; Men - education; Men - psychology; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Needs Assessment; Ontario - epidemiology; Polls & surveys; Prevention; Prevention and actions; Prevention programs; Program Evaluation; Public health; Public Health Practice; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Research and Practice; Risk Factors; Safe Sex - psychology; Safe Sex - statistics & numerical data; Sex Education - organization & administration; Sexual behavior; Sexual intercourse; Sexual Partners; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Surveys and Questionnaires; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.94.7.1181

We examined the effectiveness of community-level HIV prevention programming for men who have sex with men. We used multilevel methods to examine unprotected intercourse by bisexual men (n = 1016) with male and female partners in geographic regions with and without HIV prevention programming. Men living in geographic regions with HIV prevention programming had significantly less frequent unprotected homosexual intercourse with both casual and regular partners. In contrast, no differences were observed for unprotected heterosexual intercourse. This study provides evidence supporting the effectiveness of community-level HIV prevention programming and the need for its broader implementation. The study also demonstrates the suitability of multilevel methods for examining the effectiveness of community-level public health programs.