Local bathhouse owners have been contacted by the Field Research Council asking for their cooperation in a survey that will look at the effectiveness of safe sex messaging in their establishments. The private research company is acting on behalf of the state Office of AIDS to conduct the “Bathhouse Intervention Evaluation Study”, and the results could have an effect on funding for HIV and AIDS education here in San Diego County.

“The purpose of the survey was supposedly to determine what HIV prevention messages the patrons saw while they were in the bathhouse,” said Terry Cunningham, director of the Office of AIDS Coordination, to the Gay & Lesbian Times. “Whether or not those messages influenced the behaviors they engaged in while they were at the bathhouse; and if the messages were not influential, what messages would influence them to only engage in safer sex. So we definitely support that at the county level, that any safer sex messages that will protect the population are very important.”

The survey goes into minute detail, asking bathhouse patrons about their experiences in the clubs with questions such as: “How many partners did you fuck?” and “How many partners fucked you?” Other questions go into even further detail, asking about individuals’ HIV status and whether they determined their sex partners’ status and how that affects their activities in the club.

Local leaders have expressed concerns that the results of the surveys could be used to affect HIV funding for outreach and education. Additionally, many conservatives already feel that bathhouses have had a dramatic impact on the spread of HIV and AIDS. Others argue that closing down bathhouses and sex clubs in cities like San Francisco has done very little to slow the spread of HIV and AIDS.

“There was no correlation between the results of the survey at this time and the funding levels,” said Cunningham. “The state is always interested in making sure that the limited amount of funds that they have for HIV prevention go to the populations most in need and are most effective.”

While none of the local bathhouse owners here in San Diego would speak on the record about the surveying process, it is acknowledged that having researchers in the clubs gathering information could have an impact on their businesses.

“There is no mandate that the bathhouse has to cooperate,” Cunningham said, “but the public health officer here has already convened a meeting of bathhouses and we have met with all three of the bathhouses to discuss the issues with them, and we feel as though they’re being very cooperative.”

Currently HIV and AIDS education in the local bathhouses is provided by Family Health Centers of San Diego, a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare and health education to low income and high-risk groups.

“In terms of what we do, we’ve been working with the bathhouses for several years and the bathhouse owners and managers have been pretty cooperative in terms of working with us,” said Bob Lewis, director of HIV services for Family Health Centers of San Diego. “We go in and we’re generally in there once or twice a month and we work with curriculums that have all been approved by the local Office of AIDS Coordination and we do individual or group programs.”

Programs can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, and at the end of each one there is a quiz provided to see if the messages are working. Often times clients and customers of the bathhouses are referred to the Family Health Centers for STD and HIV testing.

“We’ve been going in there for years so staff trust us and the patrons too,” Lewis addED. “The fact that as an agency we are healthcare providers, so our message is all related to health. And part of what we are doing is referring people into STD screening and HIV screening, which we provide on site, so when we complete those referrals and they come here they are actually seeing the same people they saw at the bathhouse. So I think that helps close the loop in this and makeS them more comfortable.”