Video Opportunities for Innovative Condom Education and Safer Sex (VOICES/VOCES)

Video Opportunities for Innovative Condom Education and Safer Sex (VOICES/VOCES) is a video-based intervention for sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic patients. The intervention is targeted toward African American and Hispanic patients. Sessions are conducted in English or Spanish for small groups of gender and ethnically matched patients. Patients watch a culturally appropriate STD prevention video produced by VOICES, “Let’s Do Something Different” for African Americans and “Porque Si” for Hispanics. Videos contain risk information, correct misinformation, promote condom use, and offer strategies to encourage condom use. Following the 20-minute video, interactive group discussions reinforce the prevention message. Participants are offered free condoms at the clinic, and coupons for free condoms at a local pharmacy.

The goal of VOICES/VOCES is to increase condom use and prevent new STD infections.

In a study of more than 2,000 men who visited STD clinics, men who received the intervention had a significantly lower rate of new STD infections over a 24-month period than an intervention group that receive regular STD clinic services (p < 0.04). Among men with multiple sex partners, the intervention groups had a significantly lower rate of new STD infections than the comparison group over a 24-month period (p < 0.025).