Migration and HIV risk behaviors: Puerto Rican drug injectors in New York City and Puerto Rico.
OBJECTIVE
We compared injection-related HIV risk behaviors of Puerto Rican current injection drug users (IDUs) living in New York City and in Puerto Rico who also had injected in the other location with those who had not.


METHODS
We recruited Puerto Rican IDUs in New York City (n = 561) and in Puerto Rico (n = 312). Of the former, 39% were "newcomers," having previously injected in Puerto Rico; of the latter, 14% were "returnees," having previously injected in New York. We compared risk behaviors within each sample between those with and without experience injecting in the other location.


RESULTS
Newcomers reported higher levels of risk behaviors than other New York IDUs. Newcomer status (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.62) and homelessness (adjusted OR = 2.52) were significant predictors of "shooting gallery" use; newcomer status also predicted paraphernalia sharing (adjusted OR = 1.67). Returnee status was not related to these variables.


CONCLUSIONS
Intervention services are needed that target mobile populations who are coming from an environment of high-risk behavior to one of low-risk behavior.
National Development and Research Institutes Inc, 71 West 23rd Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010, USA. deren@ndri.org
Sherry
S
Deren
Sung-Yeon
SY
Kang
Hector M
HM
Colón
Jonny F
JF
Andia
Rafaela R
RR
Robles
Denise
D
Oliver-Velez
Ann
A
Finlinson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000009:adverse effects; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology*
D013287:Illicit Drugs