Community Impact of Pharmacy-Randomized Intervention to Improve Access to Syringes and Services for Injection Drug Users.
OBJECTIVE
In an effort to reduce HIV transmission among injection drug users (IDUs), New York State deregulated pharmacy syringe sales in 2001 through the Expanded Syringe Access Program by removing the requirement of a prescription. With evidence suggesting pharmacists' ability to expand their public health role, a structural, pharmacy-based intervention was implemented to determine whether expanding pharmacy practice to include provision of HIV risk reduction and social/medical services information during the syringe sale would (a) improve pharmacy staff attitudes toward IDUs (b) increase IDU syringe customers, and (c) increase prescription customer base in New York City neighborhoods with high burden of HIV and illegal drug activity.


METHODS
Pharmacies (n = 88) were randomized into intervention (recruited IDU syringe customers into the study and delivered intervention activities), primary control (recruited IDU syringe customers only) and secondary control (did not recruit IDUs or deliver intervention activities) arms.


RESULTS
Pharmacy staff in the intervention versus secondary control pharmacies showed significant decreases in the belief that selling syringes to IDUs causes community loitering.


CONCLUSIONS
Structural interventions may be optimal approaches for changing normative attitudes about highly stigmatized populations.
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA nbeamer@gsu.edu.
Natalie D
ND
Crawford
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Silvia
S
Amesty
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Alexis V
AV
Rivera
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Katherine
K
Harripersaud
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Alezandria
A
Turner
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Crystal M
CM
Fuller
D055030:Drug Users; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D013594:Syringes
HIV/AIDS; community-based participatory research; health behavior; health disparities; substance use