HIV risk and prior drug treatment among Puerto Rican intravenous drug users.
HIV transmission through sharing of drug injection paraphernalia is the single largest mode of infection in Puerto Rico. Of special concern to health professionals is the lack of information related to HIV risk behavior and lifestyles of IVDU's not in drug treatment. The paper analyzes the extent to which 862 currently active IVDU's in Puerto Rico had utilized drug treatment services and the differences between IVDU's with and without prior treatment history. Results show that two thirds of the IVDU's had been previously enrolled in drug treatment on an average of three times and a median per episode length of stay of 3 weeks. A step-wise discriminant analysis revealed that the number of years of drug injection previous incarceration, self-reported previous diagnoses of hepatitis and living with parents are relevant discriminating factors between treatment utilizers and non-utilizers. Policy implications of the results are also discussed.
Colón
H M
HM
Department of Anti Addiction Services, Río Piedras, PR 00928.
Robles
R
R
Sahai
H
H
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011647:Puerto Rico; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors