Despite our best attempts over the last 30 years, the HIV epidemic continues unabated. There are 1.2 million identified infections in the United States, with another several hundred thousand likely undiagnosed. The impact of this ongoing health challenge is noted most dramatically and definitively evidenced among gay men, who represent somewhere in the vicinity of two to five percent of the population — but constitute 50 percent of all AIDS-related deaths, over 50 percent of all infections and over 50 percent of newly diagnosed infections.

With millions and millions of dollars spent on HIV prevention and research — and despite the best attempts of behavioral researchers and leading AIDS service organizations to modify our risk behaviors — the epidemic continues. Initial campaigns focusing on using a condom have, over time, morphed into programs underscoring the importance of efficacy, temptation and motivation to help shape behavior. But the infections continue to spread. So what has gone wrong?

Some, including myself at times, have pointed the finger at behavioral change programs that are overly simplistic, focusing on sex as an act free of emotion or passion (and in many cases, drugs). But sex is more than simple logic, or rational decision-making. Many behavioral programs have oversimplified a very complex behavior — and the programs we have developed or the research we have enacted has ultimately failed to translate to real lives. I often wonder if the folks developing these programs actually have sex themselves.

Read the full commentary HERE.