Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111861

Lena M. Lundgren, PhD, Maryann Amodeo, PhD, Deborah Chassler, MSW, and Linsey Ben-Ami, MPH. School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, 617-353-1634, llundgre@bu.edu

Background: In order to design evidence-based interventions to reduce the spread of HIV through needle-sharing, research needs to identify the correlates of needle-sharing behavior.

Methods: Logistic regression methods were used to examine the relationship between demographic characteristics, level of drug use, drug treatment use, mental health symptoms, HIV status and needle sharing for a sample of 507 injection drug users (IDUs). Mental health symptoms were measured through the ASI psychiatric scale.

Results: Anxiety, having considered suicide and higher level drug treatment use (more than 10 entries in 6 years) were significantly and positively associated with needle sharing. Using psychotropic medication and HIV positive status were significantly and negatively associated with sharing needles.

Conclusions: Results suggest that treating mental health problems in IDUs could reduce HIV risk behaviors. Although the evidence-base is limited, some studies have shown that prescribing psychotropic medications for drug users who are not drug-free can provide symptom relief. Study results also suggest the need to use evidence-based interventions for high-level drug users who are high-level drug treatment users; promising interventions are contingency management, the “linkage model,” and using newly available medications for treatment of drug dependence.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the study rationale in terms of the need to develop evidence-based interventions for IDUs who share needles.
• Articulate specific mental health factors associated with needle sharing behavior, including the role of psychotropic medication.
• Discuss the relationship between high-level treatment use, mental health status, and needle sharing behavior, and identify evidence-based methods responding to these findings.

Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, Injection Drug Users

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.