New York City injection drug users' memories of syringe-sharing patterns and changes during the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In this oral history, 23 injection drug users (IDUs) were interviewed about the mid-1970s to mid-1980s when they could not legally purchase or possess syringes, and the threat of AIDS began to loom large. Several themes emerged, including: abrupt changes in syringe-sharing patterns; the effects of illnesses or deaths of others on their understanding of AIDS; and, racial/ethnic differences in responses to the threat of AIDS. Settings, such as "shooting galleries," helped HIV spread rapidly in the earliest stages of the city's AIDS epidemic. HIV entered the drug scene in the mid-1970s, just when IDUs were shifting from sharing homemade "works" (consisting of steel needles and syringes devised from rubber baby pacifiers and similar sources) among many IDUs to mass produced and distributed plastic, disposable needle and syringe sets. IDUs remember when they first became aware of AIDS and began to adjust their behaviors and social assumptions.
Rockwell
Russell
R
National Development and Research Institutes Inc., New York, New York 10010, USA. rockwell@NDRI.org
Joseph
Herman
H
Friedman
Samuel R
SR
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends; D018671:Needle-Exchange Programs / Q000639:trends; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*