Group counseling at STD clinics to promote use of condoms

An intervention was developed to promote safer sex and condom use among patients seeking treatment for sexually transmitted disease (STD) at a public health STD clinic in Los Angeles, CA. The intervention consisted of a short group discussion on condom use, a presentation of a videotape portraying condom use as socially acceptable behavior, and a role-playing session concerning negotiating the use of a condom with one's sex partner. The study group was 551 persons who visited the clinic in 1988. Medical records of 426 (77 percent) were located and reviewed 7 to 9 months later. Among those, 220 had participated in the intervention and 206 were control subjects who had not participated in the intervention. The rates at which patients reacquired STD after treatment and after the intervention were compared between the intervention group and the control group. Men who participated in the intervention subsequently showed a lower rate of STD reinfection than those who did not. There was no evidence that the intervention reduced reinfection among women. The strongest predictor of reinfection was found to be a history of STD infection prior to the infection that was being treated at the time of the intervention. The results show that group interventions directed to STD patients can be effective in reducing STD reinfection among men.