title: Peer-education intervention to reduce injection risk behaviors benefits high-risk young injection drug users: a latent transition analysis of the CIDUS 3/DUIT study.
abstract: We analyzed data from a large randomized HIV/HCV prevention intervention trial with young injection drug users (IDUs) conducted in five U.S. cities. The trial compared a peer education intervention (PEI) with a time-matched, attention control group. Applying categorical latent variable analysis (mixture modeling) to baseline injection risk behavior data, we identified four distinct classes of injection-related HIV/HCV risk: low risk, non-syringe equipment-sharing, moderate-risk syringe-sharing, and high-risk syringe-sharing. The trial participation rate did not vary across classes. We conducted a latent transition analysis using trial baseline and 6-month follow-up data, to test the effect of the intervention on transitions to the low-risk class at follow-up. Adjusting for gender, age, and race/ethnicity, a significant intervention effect was found only for the high-risk class. Young IDU who exhibited high-risk behavior at baseline were 90% more likely to be in the low-risk class at follow-up after the PEI intervention, compared to the control group.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. mmamiti@uic.edu
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mackesy-Amiti
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Finnegan
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ouellet
authors.forename: Elizabeth T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Golub
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hagan
authors.forename: Sharon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: Mary H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Latka
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Garfein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010379:Peer Group; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult