Context: A survey was conducted of sexually active male military personnel stationed along major border-crossing zones between the Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti, taking an applied scientific approach, to better inform prevention programming with military personnel in the region. Design and method: A subsample of 470 sexually active male military personnel was drawn from a stratified systematic sample of military personnel stationed along the three largest border-crossing zones on the western border of the Dominican Republic. Using a verbally administered questionnaire, an examination of how foci of current HIV prevention programming with military personnel correlated with key sexual risk behavioral outcomes was conducted. Results: Mental health factors such as probable alcohol abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder showed consistent associations with sexual risk behaviors. Participants showed a relatively high level of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, a moderate level of negative attitudes toward condoms, and a moderate level of stigma toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Psychosocial factors, which are typically preventive in nature, were not associated with decreased sexual risk behaviors. Conclusion: Gaps were identified in HIV prevention programming that need to be addressed in this population of sexually active male military personnel. Although knowledge, attitudes, and psychosocial factors are important foci of HIV prevention programming, they were not associated with sexual risk behaviors, particularly after controlling for mental health factors. The authors suggest that prevalent psychiatric disorders in military personnel, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, should be factored in to the development of HIV prevention programs for military personnel.

Interviewer gender influenced the prevalence of sexual behaviors and mental health, which carries implications for future research in military personnel.

Condom use during last sexual contact is a survey measure that may be used to inform monitoring and evaluation indicators of recent condom use in populations at risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections, such as the uniformed services. The authors tested for differences in condom use measures that were fielded within separate Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Surveys conducted in the armed forces of two separate nations: the Dominican Republic and Belize. Both surveys included measures of condom use during last sexual contact with specified partners and both surveys included the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA), which measures specific sexual acts and condom use frequency during a specified time period. In both samples, more than 40% of respondents who reported condom use during last sexual contact with a regular partner also reported engaging in unprotected sex when screened with the RBA. Furthermore, more than 60% of respondents who reported condom use during last sexual encounter with a commercial sex worker also reported engaging in unprotected sex when screened with the RBA. The results carry implications for monitoring and evaluation indicators of large-scale HIV prevention programs. The authors recommend that, when feasible, more in-depth instruments such as the RBA be considered to measure recent condom use in populations of uniformed services personnel.