Testing the Effectiveness of the VOICES/VOCES Intervention Package

In a series of prior research studies, the VOICES/VOCES HIV-prevention intervention has been shown to reduce new sexually transmitted infections (STI) and encourage condom use among high-risk heterosexual African American and Latino men and women, populations that bear a disproportionate burden of the AIDS epidemic. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether VOICES/VOCES, a single-session, group-level behavioral intervention, is outcome- and cost-effective when implemented in “real world” settings with agency staff delivering the intervention under routine clinic conditions. Over 3400 patients were enrolled at two large clinics, one in New York and the other in Puerto Rico. As in the original trial, effectiveness was assessed for three primary outcomes: incident infection over follow-up; redemption of a coupon obtained at the end of the clinic visit for condoms at neighborhood non-clinic location; and improvements in knowledge and positive attitudes about condoms. On all three outcomes, positive effects were noted for sites combined and especially for New York.