Substance misuse and related infectious diseases in a soup kitchen population.
Representative samples of female (N = 119) and male (N = 100) guests were selected at two inner city soup kitchens. In the preceding month, 75% used cocaine/crack and 25% used heroin/opiates as determined by hair analysis. Relatively few guests (25%) were in substance dependency treatment. Infectious disease rates were: HIV (16%), hepatitis B exposure (21%), hepatitis B carrier (6%), syphilis exposure (15%). Years of injecting drug use and homelessness/marginal housing were associated with HIV infection and hepatitis B exposure. Soup kitchens should be prime locations for outreach to cocaine/crack and heroin users in need of treatment, medical care, and interventions to prevent infectious disease transmission.
Magura
S
S
Institute for Treatment and Services Resarch, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, New York 10048, USA. steve.magura@ndri.org
Nwakeze
P C
PC
Rosenblum
A
A
Joseph
H
H
D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections; D006509:Hepatitis B; D006556:Heroin Dependence; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013587:Syphilis