Premium
Use of Needles and Syringes in Miami and Valencia: Observations of High and Low Availability
Author(s) -
Page J. Bryan,
Fraile Jose Salazar
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.1999.13.4.413
Subject(s) - miami , valencia , possession (linguistics) , seroprevalence , intervention (counseling) , ethnography , focus group , sociology , geography , library science , medicine , archaeology , anthropology , computer science , nursing , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , environmental science , serology , soil science , antibody , immunology , biology
Two studies engaged in gathering data on injecting drug users (IDUs) employed supplementary resources to enhance their ethnographic components and compare patterns of use of needles/syringes (n/s) in two geographically similar but culturally distinct cities. Despite its policy of making n/s highly available at fair prices, Valencia, Spain, has markedly higher rates of HIV seroprevalence among its IDUs than does Miami, Florida, where possession of n/s is illegal. Ethnographically based models that track IDUs through choices of injection venues help to explain this difference. Inability of IDUs in Valencia to use their own domiciles as venues for injection contrasts sharply with problems of Miami IDUs, who have access to houses but have difficulty finding n/s. This research suggests that intervention in Valencia needs to focus on how people select places where they inject, and intervention in Miami needs to focus on improving availability of n/s. [HIV, needles/syringes, cross‐site comparison, risk, injecting drug use]