title: The Significance of Harm Reduction as a Social and Health Care Intervention for Injecting Drug Users: An Exploratory Study of a Needle Exchange Program in Fresno, California.
abstract: Infectious disease remains a significant social and health concern in the United States. Preventing more people from contracting HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C (HCV), requires a complex understanding of the interconnection between the biomedical and social dimensions of infectious disease. Opiate addiction in the US has skyrocketed in recent years. Preventing more cases of HIV/AIDS and HCV will require dealing with the social determinants of health. Needle exchange programs (NEPs) are based on a harm reduction approach that seeks to minimize the risk of infection and damage to the user and community. This article presents an exploratory small-scale quantitative study of the injection drug using habits of a group of injection drug users (IDUs) at a needle exchange program in Fresno, California. Respondents reported significant decreases in high risk IDU behaviors, including sharing of needles and to a lesser extent re-using of needles. They also reported frequent use of clean paraphernalia. Greater collaboration between social and health outreach professionals at NEPs could provide important frontline assistance to people excluded from mainstream office-based services and enhance efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS or HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Work , California State University , Fresno , California , USA.
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Work , California State University , Fresno , California , USA.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family & Community Medicine , University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program , Fresno , California , USA.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zweifler
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family & Community Medicine , University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program , Fresno , California , USA.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lasher
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family & Community Medicine , University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program , Fresno , California , USA.
authors.forename: Roger B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Mortimer
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family & Community Medicine , University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program , Fresno , California , USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hughes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006293:Health Promotion; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018671:Needle-Exchange Programs; D011050:Policy Making; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D014481:United States
keywords: abscess; harm reduction; injecting drug users; needle-exchange programs; social determinants of health