title: Does informing people who inject drugs of their hepatitis C status influence their injecting behaviour? Analysis of the Networks II study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  People who inject drugs (PWID) are at risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is plausible that PWID who receive a diagnosis of HCV will reduce their injecting risk out of concern for their injecting partners, although evidence for this is currently limited. The aim of this study was to investigate whether informing PWID of their HCV diagnosis was associated with a change in injecting behaviour.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, longitudinal study of PWID recruited from street drug markets across Melbourne, Australia. Interviews and HCV testing were conducted at 3-monthly intervals. The association between receiving a diagnosis of HCV and (i) injecting frequency and (ii) injecting equipment borrowing, was examined using generalized estimating equations (GEE) analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-five individuals received a diagnosis of HCV during the study period. Receiving a diagnosis of HCV was associated with a decrease of 0.35 injections per month (p=0.046) but there was no change in injecting equipment borrowing (p=0.750).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A small reduction in injecting frequency was observed in PWID who received a diagnosis of HCV. This finding should be investigated further in larger studies examining a wider range of injecting risk behaviours.
authors: Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK; Health Protection Scotland, Glasgow, UK. Electronic address: Esther.Aspinall@nhs.net.
authors: E J
authors: EJ
authors: Aspinall
authors: Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK; Health Protection Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Weir
authors: Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Infectious Diseases Unit, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Sacks-Davis
authors: Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Infectious Diseases Unit, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Spelman
authors: The Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Grebely
authors: Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia; The Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Higgs
authors: Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK; Health Protection Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Hutchinson
authors: Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Infectious Diseases Unit, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: M E
authors: ME
authors: Hellard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diagnosis; Hepatitis C virus; People who inject drugs; Risk behaviours; Testing