title: Associations between political/civic participation and HIV drug injection risk.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Participating in civic activities has been found to be related to positive health outcomes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examines associations between injection drug use health variables (sharing paraphernalia, using shooting galleries) and political/civic engagement (identifying with any political party, attention paid to politics and being registered to vote).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (N = 162) were recruited at 6 New York City (NYC) methadone programs as part of an HIV intervention (86% male).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the bivariate analysis, being registered to vote and political party identification were related to lower paraphernalia sharing; higher levels of attention paid to politics were associated with lower shooting gallery use. In the multivariate analysis, political party identification was associated with lower paraphernalia sharing and higher levels of attention paid to politics was related to lower shooting gallery use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that maintaining connections with mainstream civic activities can be related to reduced health risks, including HIV risk behaviors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study contributes to understanding the relationships between involvement in civic/political participation and health, an area in which few studies have been conducted.
authors.affiliation: National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Milton
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mino
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deren
authors.forename: Sung-Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Honoria
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guarino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003256:Community Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment / Q000379:methods; D011057:Politics; D012309:Risk-Taking; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D008691:Methadone