Objective: To identify the meeting sites of new sexual partners in two Southern border cities in Mexico.
Material and methods: A descriptive epidemiologic study was carried out in May 2001, by surveying key informants in two border cities. Each reported site was visited to interview a resident subject. Subjects socializing in a subsample of sites were also interviewed.
Results: The key informants of the community reported 134 meeting sites in Chetumal and 111 in Ciudad Hidalgo. Both sites had scarce HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Characteristics were obtained for 89 sites in Chetumal and 42 in Ciudad Hidalgo. Almost 21% of interviewees reportedly met a new sexual partner in these sites in the past four weeks.
Conclusions: Preventive actions are needed in meeting sites of new sexual partners. This method may provide information to plan for future interventions. The English version of this paper is available too at:http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.