Premium
HIV risk exposure of injecting drug users in Sydney
Author(s) -
WODAK A.,
STOWE A.,
ROSS M. W.,
GOLD J.,
MILLER M. E.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1080/09595239500185271
Subject(s) - medicine , needle sharing , transmission (telecommunications) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , heroin , unsafe sex , sexual behavior , safer sex , drug , environmental health , demography , sexual transmission , psychiatry , family medicine , clinical psychology , condom , engineering , syphilis , sociology , electrical engineering , microbicide
One thousand two hundred and forty‐five Sydney injecting drug users (IDUs) were interviewed by questionnaire in 1989 to determine demographic and behavioural characteristics. One‐sixth (16.7%) were considered to be at low risk of HIV from either needle sharing or sexual transmission as they had either never shared injecting equipment, or had not shared for years, or cleaned their injecting equipment effectively on 100% of the occasions when they did share; and were either celibate or monogamous or, if they had multiple partners, had not had unsafe sex in the previous 6 months. Over half (50.7%) had either unsafe injecting or sexual behaviour with the remaining third (32.6%) engaging in both unsafe injecting and sexual practises. Women were more at risk from sharing injection equipment than men but men were more at risk from sexual transmission than women. Increasing age was associated with greater likelihood of safer sex but age had no effect on injecting practises. There was no relationship between unsafe injecting and sexual practises. Amphetamine use was associated with low risk injecting practises while heroin use was associated with low risk sexual transmission. These findings indicate appreciable residual risk behaviour sufficient to allow for at least a slow diffusion of HIV among injecting drug users. [Wodak AD, Stowe A, Ross MW, Gold J, Miller ME. HIV risk exposure of injecting drug users in Sydney. Drug Alcohol Rev 1995; 14:213–222].