Condom Availability in New York Public Schools

Several New York City public high schools implemented a condom distribution program based in a volunteer-staffed resource room on campus. With parental consent, students could request condoms and AIDS prevention materials from the resource room and participate in HIV/AIDS awareness lessons. Trained administrators or teachers lead the lessons; there were separate lessons for each grade (9 through 12). This program was different from most school programs in that it was not based in a clinic.

To increase condom use among sexually active high school students.

New York City schools participating in the program were randomly selected for evaluation. Three years after the start of the program, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in the participating schools and control schools which did not implement the program in Chicago. The odds of condom use at last sexual activity were increased among the students who accessed the resource room. Students at higher risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, as defined by the number of sexual partners in the past month, were more likely to get condoms at school than other students. The findings of the evaluation suggested that condom availability programs did not encourage students to initiate sexual activity.