The Brighton Conference and HIV Prevention

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

The Brighton Conference and HIV Prevention

Focus (11/94) Vol. 9, No. 12, P. 5
Marks, Robert

The strongest presentations at the Conference on Biopsychosocial Aspects of HIV Infection focused on prevention strategies for gay men and drug users. In response to continuing relapse from safer sex, and the emergence of new populations who do not recognize their risk, researchers challenged assumptions about HIV prevention, especially in gay men. Citing four studies of gay men who had relapsed into unsafe sex, Ron Gold of Deakin University in Australia, found that many gay men have accepted the "safe sex culture;" that links to the gay community do not, however, encourage all men to do so; and that safe sex campaigns that emphasize information and exhortation are no longer useful. He concluded that directly targeting the arguments that some gay men use to "give themselves permission" when they participate in unsafe sex might lead to risk reduction. The session on alcohol, drugs, and unsafe sex among gay men accented the need for researchers and educators to be specific about the context in which a behavior--such as drug and alcohol use--occurs. It also might be effective to develop state-specific interventions--strategies that reach people when they are in the state they are usually in, sober or intoxicated, when they have sex. Finally, after studying injection drug users in Brooklyn, New York researcher Sam Friedman found that the shape and size of drug use networks played a major role in determining the extent of HIV infection in network members.

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Copyright © 1994 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.

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