Structural and environmental HIV prevention for gay and bisexual men

The gay community's relationship with structural and environmental interventions, including its intensely debated approaches to reducing HIV transmission within bathhouses are reviewed, and the implications for HIV prevention for gay men are considered.

Abstract

HIV prevention efforts for gay and bisexual men in the United States began as community-mobilizing efforts, but have drifted towards focusing more on the individual. Given lowering prevalence and incidence, it is unreasonable to expect continued community support for high levels of prevention activity. Structural and environmental interventions present one useful, complementary set of alternatives to support prevention efforts. This paper reviews the gay community's relationship with these interventions, including its intensely debated approaches to reducing HIV transmission within bathhouses. The implications for HIV prevention for gay men of larger societal factors, including economic development and economic motivation, migration, and legislation, are then considered. Individual rights, community and public-health interests must be given particularly cautious consideration when designing and implementing structural and environmental interventions.