Document 0268
 DOCN  M9460268
 TI    Self-help groups: a key to HIV risk reduction for high-risk injection
       drug users?
 DT    9408
 AU    Sibthorpe B; Fleming D; Gould J; National Centre for Epidemiology and
       Population Health,; Australian National University, Canberra.
 SO    J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1994 Jun;7(6):592-8. Unique Identifier :
       AIDSLINE MED/94231464
 AB    While recent studies indicate that injection drug users (IDUs) can
       change their behavior to reduce injection risk of HIV, it remains
       unclear which users are most likely to change and which mediating
       variables are most amenable to intervention. We report a study in which
       a cohort of high-risk IDUs was followed over time to determine which
       variables were associated with reduced injection risk of HIV. Of 317
       IDUs who at baseline had shared a dirty needle in the previous 30 days,
       234 (74%) were followed for 6 months. Of these, 107 (46%) reported
       reduced or eliminated injection risk between the baseline and follow-up
       interviews, 82 (35%) by not injecting and 25 (11%) by not sharing
       syringes. Those who attended self-help meetings between the two
       interviews were almost twice as likely to report reduced or eliminated
       risk as those who did not attend (OR = 1.92; p = 0.04). The findings
       suggest that, at least, IDUs in self-help groups comprise a population
       amenable to HIV interventions and, at most, that self-help groups may
       play an important role in reducing the risk of HIV in out-of-treatment
       populations.
 DE    Adult  Cohort Studies  Female  Follow-Up Studies  Human  HIV
       Infections/*PREVENTION & CONTROL  Interviews  Male  Middle Age
       Regression Analysis  Risk Factors  *Self-Help Groups  Substance Abuse,
       Intravenous/*COMPLICATIONS/THERAPY  Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.  JOURNAL
       ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
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