'No sex' programmes are not effective against HIV infection

'No sex' programmes are not effective against HIV infection

Friday 3rd August 2007.

A systematic review carried out by Kristen Underhill, Paul Montgomery and Don Operario at the Centre for Evidence Based Intervention (CEBI) at the Department shows that educational programmes for young people, which solely promote abstinence as a way of preventing HIV infection, are not effective.  The researchers concluded that abstinence-only programmes were no more effective than usual services or no treatment at all in preventing HIV infection.  The study, published in this month's British Medical Journal, calls into question whether state and federal funding for such programmes in the United States could be better spent.

The research paper 'Sexual abstinence only programmes to prevent HIV in high-income countires: systematic review' by Kristen Underhill et al is published online on the BMJ website.

For the full press release see the University press notice.

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