title: HIV/AIDS risk perception, HIV risk behaviors, and HIV seropositivity among injection drug users in Puerto Rico.
abstract: This paper assesses the factors related to self perception of developing AIDS among a group of 1,568 Puerto Rican injection drug users (IDUs). Incarceration history, years of drug injection, sharing needles, renting and borrowing needles, sharing rinse water or cooker, and having an IDU sex partner yielded a moderate association with HIV/AIDS risk perception. Use of sterile needles, shooting drugs alone, having had previous treatment episodes, and all the variables related to health status were also moderately associated with HIV/AIDS risk perception. A logistic regression model based on backwards elimination procedure, which included statistically significant variables in the bivariate analyses, yielded the variables living with children, sex with an IDU partner, shooting drugs alone, perception of health, having had a sexually transmitted disease, and results of HIV testing as statistically significant (p < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Mental Health and Anti Addiction Services Administration, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00928-1414.
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Cancel
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Robles
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Colón
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Matos
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Freeman
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012649:Self Concept; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*