PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Needle Sharing”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Variations in needle sharing practices among intravenous drug users in Possil (Glasgow).

Glasgow has an intravenous drug using (IVDU) population which is probably larger but hitherto less infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) than IVDUs elsewhere in Scotland. This 1988 study of 50 Glasgow IVDUs reports disturbingly high rates of sharing injecting equipment, and points to imprisonment as a possible factor in increasing such risk taking behaviour.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Amsterdam's drug policy and its implications for controlling needle sharing.

In summary, it can be stated that Amsterdam has a wide variety of helping modalities. Approximately 70 percent of the city's 7,000 drug addicts are in contact with this helping system. In The Netherlands, no evidence could be found to support the fear that low-threshold methadone programs keep addicts away from drug-free treatment. Figure 1 shows that the number of addicts entering drug-free treatment doubled in the period 1981-85 (most popular has been the drug-free aftercare). This is even more striking since the estimated number of addicts did not increase in that same period. So, instead of keeping addicts away from treatment, low-threshold programs and outreach activities may have been effective tools in motivating addicts to enter drug-free treatment. Figure 2 shows the rise of the mean age of drug addicts, while figure 3 indicates that the percentage of addicts under 22 years decreases (14.4 percent in 1981 and 5.1 percent in 1986). Since the total number of addicts is quite stable, this may suggest that heroin is becoming less attractive to young people.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2000

The social context of HIV risk behaviour by drug injectors in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

A combined research approach with both quantitative and qualitative methods was used to contextualize risk behaviour among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Ho chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, in April 1997. A total of 630 IDUs (330 inside and 300 outside the rehabilitation centre) were recruited to the study. Very high-risk injecting behaviour among IDUs in the past, including sharing needles, syringes and drug solutions from the same drug pot in shooting galleries, may explain why HIV prevalence among IDUs in HCM has been growing rapidly. IDUs who had in the past injected on the street, used syringes from shooting galleries, were injected by drug dealers and/or joined in needle sharing were more likely to be sharing needles and syringes currently. Condom use was low, and was mainly with female sex workers but not with regular partners. Both IDUs who continue to use shooting galleries and shooting gallery owners should be educated on the necessity of using clean injecting equipment and on how to clean it properly. Co-ordination between ministries and agencies involved in HIV/AIDS and drugs programmes is needed to create policies for supportive environments to bring about changes in both drug use and HIV risk behaviours.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2006

Prevalence and correlates of HIV risk behaviors among drug users in China.

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of HIV risk behaviors among 1,153 current drug users in China. Chi-squared tests of differences were used to test if drug users differed from non-users; logistic regression was used to identify behavior-specific risk factors. Results indicate that 60% of drug users injected drugs and more than one third shared needles. Compared to non-users, drug users had higher rates of risky sexual behavior and HIV/STDs. Among drug users, ethnic minorities and migrants were most vulnerable to unprotected casual sex and needle sharing. Drug users who experienced social isolation were associated with lower odds of risk behaviors; those who had experiences of anti-social behaviors and commercial sex, poor HIV knowledge, and perceived greater vulnerability were more prone to unprotected casual sex and needle sharing. Additional correlates of unprotected casual sex included being single, depression, and taking drugs/alcohol during sex. Additional risk factors of needle sharing included education and initiated drug use at younger ages. It is imperative that HIV interventions in China target drug users and address behavior-specific risk factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

HIV drug resistance and HIV transmission risk behaviors among active injection drug users.

HIV(+) injection drug users in clinical care may harbor and transmit drug-resistant HIV. We performed a retrospective study of HIV drug resistance and risk behavior among HIV(+) injection drug users in care to determine the number of needle-sharing events that involved and the proportion of sharing partners exposed to drug-resistant HIV. Among 180 HIV injection drug users, 55 (31%) reported injecting drugs in the previous month, and 22 of these (40%) shared needles and/or works 148 times with 296 partners, of whom 271 (92%) were thought to be HIV(-) or status unknown. Further, 55 (31%) drug users harbored resistant HIV, including 5 (3% of total) who also shared needles and/or works a total of 27 times with 44 partners (18% of all sharing events and 15% of all exposed partners). A small proportion of injection drug users receiving clinical care engage in injection risk behavior and carry resistant HIV; however, because of multiple partners and needle-sharing events, they expose a substantial number of individuals to drug-resistant HIV. Strategies to reduce injection drug use risk behaviors among patients in clinical care are needed to reduce the transmission of sensitive and resistant HIV.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed1992

Results of a randomized trial of partner notification in cases of HIV infection in North Carolina.

BACKGROUND: We sought to compare two methods of notifying sex partners of subjects infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or persons who had shared needles with them (needle-sharing partners): "patient referral," in which the responsibility for notifying partners was left to the patient, and "provider referral," in which providers attempted to notify partners. METHODS: Names of sex partners and needle-sharing partners and information on how to locate them were obtained from consenting HIV-infected subjects identified in the HIV-testing programs at three public health departments in North Carolina. The subjects were randomly assigned to a patient-referral group (in which patients had the initial responsibility for notifying their partners) or a provider-referral group (in which the study counselor notified the partners). The success of attempts to notify partners was monitored by means of interviews with counselors conducted both in the field and at the health department. RESULTS: Of 534 HIV-positive persons identified at the health departments, 247 (46 percent) did not return for counseling after the test, 8 were counseled outside the study, and 117 (22 percent) were ineligible. Of the 162 invited to participate, 88 (54 percent) declined and 74 (46 percent) agreed. The subjects were mostly male (69 percent), black (87 percent), homosexual or bisexual (76 percent of the men), and had a median age of 30 years. Thirty-nine were assigned to the provider-referral group and 35 to the patient-referral group. In the provider-referral group 78 of 157 partners (50 percent) were successfully notified, whereas in the patient-referral group only 10 of 153 (7 percent) were notified. Of the partners notified by the counselors, 94 percent were not aware that they had been exposed to HIV. Overall, 23 percent of the partners notified and tested were HIV-positive. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, leaving the notification of partners up to the subjects (patient referral) was quite ineffective, despite the North Carolina law requiring that partners be notified. Partner notification by public health counselors (provider referral) was significantly more effective. Although the effectiveness of notification procedures is constrained by the accuracy of the information provided by HIV-infected patients, counselors who notify the partners of an infected patient can refer them to educational, medical, and support services targeted to persons at high risk for HIV infection and may encourage the adoption of less risky behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Differences in HIV risk behaviors by gender in a sample of Tanzanian injection drug users.

This study investigated differences in drug use and sexual behaviors among from 237 male and 123 female heroin users in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Multivariate models of risk of needle sharing were estimated using multivariate logistic regression. Men were significantly older, more likely to inject only white heroin, share needles, and give or lend used needles to other injectors. Women were more likely to be living on the streets, have injected brown heroin, have had sex, have had a higher number of sex partners, and have used a condom with the most recent sex partner. Being male and earning less than US $46 in the past month were significant predictors of increased risk of needle sharing. Despite differences in sociodemographic, drug use, and sexual behaviors by gender, both male and female injectors in Dar es Salaam exhibit elevated risk of HIV infection associated with drug use.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Injecting drug use and HIV infection in southwest China.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of drug injection among drug users, the seroprevalence of HIV and risk factors for HIV infection among injecting drug users (IDU), and to determine heterosexual transmission of HIV among IDU and their spouses in southwest China. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, we conducted an HIV seroprevalence and behavioral survey in three rural counties of Yunnan province, Ruili, Longchuan and Luxi in southwest China, bordering Myanmar (Burma). A total of 860 drug users were recruited in randomly selected communities at the three study sites (response rate, 97%). In addition, a random sample of 62 wives of HIV-infected IDU were assembled from 460 known HIV-positive IDU in Ruili and Longchuan (response rate, 81%). RESULTS: In the sample of 860 drug users, 33% reported injecting drugs. Among the 282 subjects who injected drugs, 82% began intravenous drug use after 1988; 64% injected drugs at least once every day. All subjects shared needles but none cleaned the injection equipment with alcohol or bleach. Overall, 49% tested HIV-positive. HIV seropositivity was independently correlated with a longer history of drug injecting, daily injecting, frequent needle-sharing, being younger, and living in Ruili county. Among the 62 wives of HIV-positive IDU, none used condoms during sex and 10% tested HIV-positive. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the introduction of HIV into drug-using communities and the rapid increase in heroin injecting in this population appear to have triggered an explosive HIV epidemic among IDU in southwest China. We recommend that AIDS prevention efforts should begin immediately and focus on discouraging the shift from opium smoking to heroin injecting, needle-sharing, and unprotected sex among drug users and their partners.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Trends of HIV-1 risk reduction among initiates into intravenous drug use 1982-1987.

To assess how injection practices may have changed during the course of the AIDS epidemic, active intravenous drug users (IVDUs) recruited from the community were asked to report year of first injection as well as specific details about the first 3 months after initial injection: frequencies of injection, using sterile needles, sharing needles and other equipment. For the analysis, the users were sorted into successive cohorts of initiation (by year of first injection), and tests for trends were completed using Mantel-Haenszel statistics. Among the 421 IVDUs who reported first injection between 1982 and 1987, the use of new sterile needles to self-administer drugs increased (p less than .05) along with its corollary behavior (i.e., using equipment one is sure that no one else had used before). Conversely, there was a decrease in the proportion of those who always used equipment previously used by another IVDU (p less than .05) and a decrease in the number of needle-sharing partners (p less than .01). Over the 6 years, heroin as first drug decreased and cocaine increased (p less than .01). Although these data are from a cross-sectional interview study, they suggest a shift toward lower risk practices among new IVDUs between 1982 and 1987. The shift from heroin to cocaine is compatible with other evidence on the cocaine epidemic.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

HIV risks among minority drug users in a small city.

In 1989, African-American and Mexican-American drug users (n = 220) in a small southern city were interviewed, in street settings, about their HIV behavioral risks and their readiness to reduce risks. Both ethnic groups contained large numbers of cocaine and heroin users. Mexican Americans were more likely to use heroin, prefer injection, and share needles with other drug users than were African Americans. Sexual risk-taking in both groups was high, with very low levels of condom use, high levels of exchanging sex for drugs and money, and high levels of having multiple sexual partners. Mexican Americans were more likely than African Americans to have regular partners who used drugs. Intravenous drug users in both ethnic groups were at high risk for HIV infection, reporting high levels of multiple drug use, daily drug use, needle sharing, never cleaning needles, and exchanging sex for drugs or money. Readiness to reduce HIV risks was also high in both groups, as evidenced by the response to questions about the use of free preventive services, HIV testing, and concern about AIDS. Implications for research and preventive programs among minority drug users in small cities are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Sexual behavior among injection drug users in 3 indonesian cities carries a high potential for HIV spread to noninjectors.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of injecting practices that carry a risk of HIV infection among injection drug users (IDUs) in Indonesia and to examine the risk of sexual transmission of HIV from IDUs to noninjecting populations. DESIGN: A first round of behavioral surveillance among community-recruited male IDUs in 3 cities. METHODS: In late 2002, IDU gathering places were mapped in 3 cities, and 650 IDUs were recruited using multiple wave sampling originating from sites systematically selected for diversity. Trained interviewers, mostly former IDUs, administered a questionnaire focusing on injecting practices, sexual behavior, and HIV-related knowledge. RESULTS: Almost all IDUs knew that HIV is transmissible through shared needles, but 85% of injectors reported using a syringe previously used by another IDU in the previous week. Over two thirds of IDUs were sexually active, 48% reported multiple partners, and 40% had bought sex from a female sex worker in the preceding 12 months. Consistent condom use was reported by 10%. CONCLUSIONS: The potential for the sexual spread of HIV from IDUs to noninjectors is extremely high in Indonesia. Interventions are urgently needed to reduce high levels of needle sharing, but a focus on needle cleaning and increasing condom use among IDUs is also essential.

Adolescent↗