Abstract
Although injection drug users (IDUs) are at high risk of HIV, seroprevalence rates vary throughout the United States. This paper compares HIV-related risk behaviors for IDUs across communities with low, moderate, and high seroprevalence rates among IDUs. Data are based on interviews with 12,072 seronegative IDUs from 22 communities participating in a multisite study. Injection- and sex-related risk behaviors (e.g., using others' syringes, unprotected sex acts) were found to be significantly higher in the low seroprevalence communities. This indicates that efforts to reduce risk behaviors should be continued across all IDU communities. Further research on the social/environmental context of risk-taking is needed.
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Deren, S., Beardsley, M., Coyle, S. et al. HIV Risk Behaviors Among Injection Drug Users in Low, Medium, and High Seroprevalence Communities. AIDS Behav 5, 45–50 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009507421406
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009507421406