Sexually transmitted disease prevention approaches that work. Interventions to reduce risk behavior among individuals, groups, and communities.

Behavior change remains the only available means to curtail new HIV infections. Although much remains to be learned about the effectiveness of different prevention strategies, there has already been evidence that both face-to-face interventions focused on individuals and community-level interventions focused on vulnerable communities can produce substantial reductions in high-risk sexual behavior. This article briefly describes the results of controlled outcome studies that have employed cognitive-behavioral and norm change elements to reduce HIV risk behaviors in face-to-face and community-level trials with both inner-city women and homosexual men.