Funding Source: NIAAA R21, 2008-2011

 

Key Personnel, HIV Center:

Principal Investigator: Ivan Balan, Ph.D.

Co-Investigators: Alex Carballo-Diéguez, Ph.D.; Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, Dr.P.H.; Jon Morgenstern, Ph.D.

 

Key Personel, University of Buenos Aires:
Co-Investigator:
María M. Avila, Ph.D.

Nexo Associacion Civil (Buenos Aires):
Co-Investigators: Rubén Marone, Lic.; Victoria Barreda, Lic.

 

Project Overview:

The HIV prevalence rate in Argentina is 0.6 percent in the general population, with much higher rates in high risk segments of the population. While the cost of treatment for HIV is covered by the government, programs in HIV prevention are limited. Venue based interventions have the potential to reach segments of the population at high risk for HIV infection. Given the associations between alcohol use and sexual risk behavior, venues where alcohol is sold and sexual behavior occurs could be particularly effective settings for HIV prevention efforts. However, although there has been much research on venues, alcohol use, and sexual risk behavior, no studies have sought to understand the interaction between these three factors, an essential step in developing interventions that target HIV risk behavior in these settings.

 

Targeting public venues in Buenos Aires where men meet, alcohol is consumed, and sexual behavior occurs, the goal of this 2-year exploratory study is to understand the various factors that contribute to the creation of a high risk sexual space. To that end, the study seeks to describe the relative contribution of physical characteristics of the place, patron characteristics, type and level of alcohol consumption, and social dynamics that are at play and potentiate each other to result in sexual risk behavior.

This qualitative study consists of site observations of 6 venues frequented by men where alcohol is consumed and sexual behavior occurs, as well as in-depth interviews with 48 patrons of those venues, 18 owners/personnel from the venues, and 10 HIV prevention and alcoholism specialists. Venue patrons will also undergo a brief quantitative assessment to gather descriptive data on sexual behavior and substance use among this sample. Grounded theory will guide the qualitative data analysis, with the venue patron data undergoing a second level of analysis to develop cross-case causal models of HIV risk behavior in the context of alcohol use in these venues. We expect findings from this study to provide a blueprint for developing a venue-based HIV prevention intervention for these settings, which could be more fully developed and tested in a subsequent study.