title: HIV and HCV prevalence and incarceration-related risks among injecting drug users in three West Bank governorates.
abstract: In the Middle East, the HIV epidemic among injecting drug users (IDUs) seems to be in an early phase, which increases the importance of prevention and systematic risk surveillance. To gain information about HIV and HCV infection rates among IDUs in the West Bank, a biobehavioral survey was conducted using time-location sampling in the Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem governorates in 2013. The researchers recruited 288 Palestinian IDUs ages 16-64 (Mage = 39.2, SD = 11.11). While no HIV cases were found in the sample, 41% of participants tested positive for HCV. Imprisonment was common among participants (83%), so we explored the association of incarceration experience with HCV infection and HIV testing. In multivariate assessments, incarceration was shown to increase the odds of being infected with HCV and ever tested for HIV. HIV prevention should be strengthened in West Bank prisons and correctional facilities, and imprisonment for drug use re-examined.
authors.affiliation: a Sexology Unit, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences , University of Zagreb , Zagreb , Croatia.
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Štulhofer
authors.affiliation: b Al-Maqdese for Society Development , Jerusalem , Israel.
authors.forename: Isam
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jwehan
authors.affiliation: c World Health Organization , Jerusalem , Israel.
authors.forename: Randa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: AbuRabie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East; D015995:Prevalence; D011330:Prisons; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HCV; HIV; HIV testing; Injecting drug use; incarceration; the West Bank