Open AccessHigher HCV antibody prevalence among Indigenous clients of needle and syringe programs
Author(s) -
Ward James,
Topp Libby,
Iversen Jenny,
Wand Handan,
Akre Snehal,
Kaldor John,
Maher Lisa
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2011.00743.x
Subject(s) - indigenous , syringe , medicine , hepatitis c virus , demographics , antibody , hepatitis c , needle sharing , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , family medicine , demography , immunology , virus , psychiatry , syphilis , ecology , sociology , condom , biology
Objective: To compare prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody and associated risk behaviours among Indigenous and non‐Indigenous participants in the Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey.Methods: During 1 or 2 weeks each October from 1998 to 2008, clients of participating needle and syringe programs (NSPs) completed a self‐administered questionnaire on demographics and risk behaviour and provided a capillary blood sample for HIV and HCV antibody testing. After de‐duplication, 16,132 individuals participated during the 11 years, of whom 1,380 (8.6%) identified as Indigenous.Results: Higher proportions of Indigenous than non‐Indigenous participants were HCV antibody positive (57% versus 51%, p <0.001). In an overall multivariable analysis, Indigenous status (OR 1.17; CI 1.03–1.32) and female gender (OR 1.25; CI 1.16–1.35) were independently associated with HCV antibody seropositivity. Indigenous participants also reported higher rates of risk behaviour, including receptive sharing of needle syringes (21% vs 16%; p <0.001), receptive sharing of ancillary injecting equipment (38% vs 33%; p <0.001), having been injected by others (18% vs 13%; p <0.001), and injecting in public (54% vs 49%; p <0.001).Conclusion and implications: These results highlight the need for targeted, culturally appropriate programs to minimise risks for bloodborne viral transmission among Indigenous people who inject drugs.