My Place, Your Place, and No Place: Behavior Settings as a Risk Factor for HIV-Related Injection Practices of Drug Users in Baltimore, Maryland

• NCJ Number: 158319
• Journal: American Journal of Community Psychology Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: (June 1994) Pages: 415-430
• Author(s): C Latkin; W Mandell; D Vlahov; M Oziemkowska; A Knowlton; D Celentano
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA04334; DA05911; DA06313; DA08985
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Because information on the social context of illicit drug injection behaviors and their relation to HIV infection is sparse, this study examined injection settings, injecting with others, and HIV risk behaviors of sharing needles and not cleaning contaminated needles in a sample of 630 inner-city injecting drug users in Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract

Open-ended interviews identified five primary injection behavior settings. These settings include one's own residence, friend's residence, mother's residence, shooting galleries, and semipublic areas. Cocaine and heroin were the drugs of choice in the study sample. Most participants reported injecting in their own residence (92 percent) and at a friend's residence (86 percent) in the prior 6 months. Multiple regression analysis showed that injecting at a friend's residence, in shooting galleries, and in semipublic areas and the frequency of injecting with others were significantly associated with the frequency of sharing uncleaned needles, slipping (failure to disinfect shared needles), and not always cleaning used needles before injecting. Results suggest that interventions may benefit from targeting settings as well as behaviors to reduce the spread of HIV. 34 references and 6 tables