Document 0337
 DOCN  M9590337
 TI    Initiation into injecting: the first hit.
 DT    9509
 AU    Louie R; Crofts N; Rosenthal D; Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical
       Research, Fairfield,; Victoria.
 SO    Annu Conf Australas Soc HIV Med. 1994 Nov 3-6;6:161 (unnumbered
       abstract). Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ASHM6/95291762
 AB    OBJECTIVES--(i) To determine how injecting drug users (IDUs) first begin
       to inject, (ii) to determine whether the manner of initiation influences
       subsequent injecting behaviour in relation to risk of HIV transmission,
       (iii) to determine whether a relationship exists between injecting and
       sexual risk and (iv) to determine the sources of knowledge about HIV
       infection and safe injecting among these people.
       METHODOLOGY--Recruitment of subjects to the study by peer workers who
       approached potential respondents from their own social networks and from
       street intercepts. Entry was restricted to those aged up to 21 years who
       had only begun to inject in the preceding three years. RESULTS--300
       young people with a history of IDU were interviewed. Average age at
       first injection was 16 years and the most often injected drug was
       amphetamines. For 78.5% the first injection was under the influence of
       another (non-injected) drug. For most, initiation was with a group of
       other injectors with 81% injected by a friend. Many of these friends
       were sexual partners and 1% was first injected or shown how to by family
       members, including a few by parents. 49% used someone else's injecting
       equipment. Of those who had injected in the last 12 months, nearly half
       had used needles which had previously been used by someone else, and
       high proportions were sharing other equipment involved in injecting. The
       average age of onset of sexual activity was 14 years, with a mean number
       of 10 sexual partners. Reported rates of condom use were low and a high
       proportion reported ever having had a STD, with over half the females
       ever having been pregnant. Most knew from the media about HIV and how it
       is transmitted. CONCLUSION--The results from this study support the need
       to devise programs which can effectively reduce the number of young
       people who begin injecting drugs, or which can ensure that they at least
       learn from the onset of injecting and sexual activity to protect
       themselves and others from HIV/STDs and other blood-borne viruses. A
       peer-based intervention project would be a most effective way of meeting
       the need to provide more specific harm reduction measures for this young
       injecting population.
 DE    Adolescence  Adult  Condoms/STATISTICS & NUMER DATA  Female  Human  HIV
       Infections/PREVENTION & CONTROL/PSYCHOLOGY/*TRANSMISSION  *Knowledge,
       Attitudes, Practice  Male  Pregnancy  *Sex Behavior  Sexual Partners
       Social Environment  Substance Abuse,
       Intravenous/COMPLICATIONS/*EPIDEMIOLOGY/  PSYCHOLOGY
       Victoria/EPIDEMIOLOGY  MEETING ABSTRACT

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).