NCJ Number
185604
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2000 Pages: 11-24
Date Published
September 2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article examines how young people first come to inject drugs, how they learn about hepatitis C and sterile injecting drug use and prevention strategies.
Abstract
The first part of the article reports some research findings and highlights the urgent need to develop specific hepatitis C education activities that take into account the social context of drug use. The second part of the article poses various hepatitis C prevention challenges and opportunities prior to, during, and after a young person's initial injecting experience, and highlights the valuable role of peer-led education in hepatitis C prevention. The article notes that friends and peers often play a key role in the first injecting experience and are a highly important group to use in educating about hepatitis C prevention those new to injecting. Current injectors should be educated about sterile injecting practice, the negative effects of polydrug use, and sources of sterile injecting equipment and information. This must occur in addition to the mainstream implementation of blood awareness education and the inclusion of issues associated with polydrug use within school-based drug education programs. Tables, references