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The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

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victimization through theft, violence, <strong>and</strong> illnesses related to their drug<br />

use. A person may borrow a needle from someone because the borrower<br />

does not want to assume the risk for illegal possession <strong>of</strong> a syringe.<br />

Similarly, the probability <strong>of</strong> a fatal overdose is reduced if someone else<br />

with whom they share a needle is present. <strong>The</strong> immediate costs <strong>of</strong> arrest,<br />

overdose, or dope sickness are usually more salient than the long-term<br />

risks to one’s health (hepatitis, endocarditis, AIDS). <strong>Risk</strong> taking <strong>and</strong> risk<br />

perception are also likely to change over time, as a person’s dependency<br />

on a substance increases <strong>and</strong> acculturation to the IDU community<br />

increases.<br />

CHANGES IN AIDS RISK BEHAVIORS<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is a growing literature on the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> intervention<br />

programs whose goals are to impact on the AIDS risk behaviors <strong>of</strong> IDUs<br />

<strong>and</strong> their sexual partners. While it is beyond the scope <strong>of</strong> this chapter to<br />

review this literature, it is nevertheless instructive to review the findings<br />

<strong>of</strong> a study that summarizes the impact <strong>of</strong> the National AIDS<br />

Demonstration Research (NADR) projects (Stephens et al. 1993). <strong>The</strong>se<br />

projects targeted IDUs <strong>and</strong> their sexual partners with a variety <strong>of</strong> AIDS<br />

prevention messages delivered in a variety <strong>of</strong> innovative educational<br />

programs.<br />

Twenty-eight NADR programs contributed longitudinal data (measured<br />

by st<strong>and</strong>ardized interviews at baseline <strong>and</strong> 6-month followup) on 13,475<br />

IDUs <strong>and</strong> 1,637 sexual partners. Analysis indicated significant changes<br />

over the 6-month period in <strong>HIV</strong>-related risk behaviors among IDUs,<br />

including frequency <strong>of</strong> injecting drugs, the use <strong>of</strong> noninjected drugs, the<br />

use <strong>of</strong> borrowed injection equipment, <strong>and</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> sexual partners<br />

reported by the subject. Significant increases were observed in the use <strong>of</strong><br />

new (rather than previously used) needles, the use <strong>of</strong> bleach to clean<br />

injection equipment between uses, <strong>and</strong> the use <strong>of</strong> condoms. <strong>The</strong><br />

magnitude <strong>of</strong> change in many <strong>of</strong> the risk behaviors was very large. For<br />

example, at baseline, 54 percent <strong>of</strong> the total sample indicated that they<br />

had shared needles with two or more different persons during the<br />

preceding 6 months; at followup, the percentage had dropped to 23<br />

percent. In particular, changes in risky needle-related behaviors were<br />

more dramatic than the changes in the risky sexual behaviors.<br />

Nevertheless, there were significant numbers <strong>of</strong> subjects who did not<br />

reduce their AIDS risk behaviors.<br />

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