Engaging community businesses in human immunodeficiency virus prevention: a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: To explore the feasibility of engaging community businesses in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention.
DESIGN: Randomly selected business owners/managers were asked to display discreetly wrapped condoms and brochures, both of which were provided free-of-charge for 3 months. Assessments were conducted at baseline, mid-program, and post-program. Customer feedback was obtained through an online survey.
SETTING: Participants were selected from a San Diego, California neighborhood with a high rate of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-one business owners/managers who represented 10 retail categories, and 52 customers. MEASURES: Participation rates, descriptive characteristics, number of condoms and brochures distributed, customer feedback, business owners'/managers' program satisfaction, and business owners'/managers' willingness to provide future support for HIV prevention were measured. ANALYSIS: Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, Fisher's exact, and McNemar's tests were used to analyze data.
RESULTS: The 20 business owners/managers (39%) who agreed to distribute condoms and brochures reported fewer years in business and more employees than those who agreed only to distribute brochures (20%) or who refused to participate (41%; p < .05). Bars were the easiest of ten retail categories to recruit. Businesses with more employees and customers distributed more condoms and brochures (p < .05). More than 90% of customers supported distributing condoms and brochures in businesses, and 96% of business owners/managers described their program experience as positive.
CONCLUSION: Businesses are willing to distribute condoms and brochures to prevent HIV. Policies to increase business participation in HIV prevention should be developed and tested.