A theoretical approach to bathhouse environments

D. Binson, W. Woods

HIV prevention guidelines have aimed primarily at the individual level, although recently the field of public health has begun to focus more on structural level interventions. This paper explores an application of Rudolf Moos_ person-environment theory as one model that helps to provide an understanding of the dynamic relationship between bathhouse patrons and the environment within which they engage in sexual activities. Understanding how different dimensions of the environment affect behavior could be instrumental in revealing not just that a bathhouse intervention works, but how it works. Knowing more about how an intervention works would facilitate its application in other settings.[Copies are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Center. The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580, USA]