Suchergebnisse

Sue Whittaker and Paul Domican outline a practical solution to a widespread problem, as developed in Northamptonshire. Other hostel teams may prefer alternative policies.

Summary of the findings for 2005/06 from the four collaborating centres in Northen Ireland

Survey of Injecting Drug Users: Summary of the findings for 2004/05 from the four collaborating centres in Northern Ireland

A community sample of ninety-one HIV seronegative IDUs were randomly assigned to either a one-hour, one-on-one, intensive educational intervention or a fifteen-minute "standard" educational session. Risk behaviors for the prior six months were assessed by interview before the intervention and six months later. Self-reported injecting drug use decreased from 100% to 70% at the six-month follow-up and the proportion injecting daily dropped from 42% to 18%. The proportion who used someone else's injection equipment dropped from 65% to 34%. Nearly all IDUs who continued to inject reported using bleach to clean their equipment. There was no significant additional benefit from the intensive intervention. Variables hypothesized to mediate reduction in HIV risk behavior (personal distress, perceived personal risk, and intention to reduce risky behavior) were not associated with reduction of activities with high-risk for HIV infection. These data suggest that individualized, short-term educational interventions probably have limited impact on lowering frequency of risky behaviors.

Health promotion materials on hepatitis C prevention and safe injecting enjoin injecting drug users to produce ethical selves through relatively rigid social and hygiene-related conduct. This article examines a sample of safe injecting and hepatitis C prevention health promotion materials, and interview data gathered from injecting drug users, to consider the ways in which the notion of individual responsibility functions within them. I argue that the primacy of the individual in western culture is indeed reflected in hepatitis C and safe injecting materials and, that for a range of reasons, injecting drug users also make use of notions of individual responsibility. The article concludes by considering the social and health implications of this individualist approach to injecting drug use and health promotion, and by suggesting ways in which effective materials which do not focus solely on the individual can be created.

The systematic collection of behavioural information is an important component of second-generation HIV surveillance. The extent of behavioural surveillance among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Europe was examined using data collected through a questionnaire sent to all 31 countries of the European Union and European Free Trade Association as part of a European-wide behavioural surveillance mapping study on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The questionnaire was returned by 28 countries during August to September 2008: 16 reported behavioural surveillance studies (two provided no further details). A total of 12 countries used repeated surveys for behavioural surveillance and five used their Treatment Demand Indicator system (three used both approaches). The data collected focused on drug use, injecting practices, testing for HIV and hepatitis C virus and access to healthcare. Eight countries had set national indicators: three indicators were each reported by five countries: the sharing any injecting equipment, uptake of HIV testing and uptake of hepatitis C virus testing. The recall periods used varied. Seven countries reported conducting one-off behavioural surveys (in one country without a repeated survey, these resulted an informal surveillance structure). All countries used convenience sampling, with service-based recruitment being the most common approach. Four countries had used respondent-driven sampling. Three fifths of the countries responding (18/28) reported behavioural surveillance activities among IDUs; however, harmonisation of behavioural surveillance indicators is needed.