SUBSTANCE ABUSE
[Main List]
Articles and Presentations
Drug Use and High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men and Men Who Have Sex With Women
Dorothy C. Browne 1*, Patricia A. Clubb 2, Yan Wang 3, Fernando Wagner 2
AJPH published April 16, 2009, 10.2105/AJPH.2007.133462 [Abstract] [PDF] dbrowne@ncat.edu
Abstract
Objectives. We investigated covariates related to risky sexual behaviors among young African American men enrolled at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Methods. Analyses were based on data gathered from 1837 male freshmen enrolled at 34 HBCUs who participated in the 2001 HBCU Substance Use Survey. The covariates of risky sexual behavior assessed included condom nonuse, engaging in sexual activity with multiple partners, and history of a sexually transmitted disease.
Results. Young Black men who had sex with men were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors than were young men who had sex with women. Two additional factors, early onset of sexual activity and consumption of alcohol or drugs before sexual activity, were independently associated with modestly higher odds of sexual risk behaviors.
Conclusions. Services focusing on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases should be provided to all male college students, regardless of the gender of their sexual partners. Such a general approach should also address drug and alcohol use before sexual activity.
"I Inject Less As I Have Easier Access To Pipes." Injecting, And Sharing Of Crack-Smoking Materials, Decline As Safer Crack-Smoking Resources Are Distributed.
Int J Drug Policy. 2008 Jun;19(3):255-64.
Leonard L, Derubeis E, Pelude L, Medd E, Birkett N, Seto J.
Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.
Among injection drug users (IDUs) in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, prevalence rates of HIV (20.6 percent) and hepatitis C HCV (75.8 percent) are among the highest in Canada. Recent research evidence suggests the potential for HCV and HIV transmission through the multi-person use of crack-smoking implements. On the basis of this scientific evidence, in April 2005, Ottawa's needle exchange programme (NEP) commenced distributing glass stems, rubber mouthpieces, brass screens, chopsticks, lip balm and chewing gum to reduce the harms associated with smoking crack. This study aims to evaluate the impact of this initiative on a variety of HCV- and HIV-related risk practices. Active, street-recruited IDUs who also smoked crack consented to personal interviews and provided saliva samples for HCV and HIV testing at four time points: 6-months pre-implementation (N=112), 1-month (N=114), 6-months (N=157) and 12-months (N=167) post-implementation. Descriptive and univariate analyses were completed. Following implementation of the initiative, a significant decrease in injecting was observed. Pre-implementation, 96 percent of IDUs reported injecting in the month prior to the interview compared with 84 percent in the 1-month, and 78 percent in the 6- and 12-month post-implementation interviews (p<.01). Conversely, approximately one-quarter of participants at both the 6- and 12-month post-implementation evaluation points reported that they were smoking crack more frequently since the availability of clean equipment-25 and 29 percent, respectively. In addition to a shift to a less harmful method of drug ingestion, HCV- and HIV-related risks associated with this method were reduced. Among crack-smoking IDUs sharing pipes, the proportion sharing "every time" declined from 37 percent in the 6-month pre-implementation stage, to 31 percent in the 1-month, 12 percent in the 6-month and 13 percent in the 12-month post-implementation stages (p<.01). Since distributing safer crack-smoking materials by a NEP contributes to transition to safer methods of drug ingestion and significantly reduces disease-related risk practices, other NEPs should adopt this practice.
HIV Prevention for Injecting Drug Users: The First 25 Years And Counting.
Psychosom Med. 2008 Jun 2. [Epub ahead of print]
Des Jarlais DC, Semaan S.
Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute (D.C.D.J.), Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York; and National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (S.S.), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
During the last three decades, both the injection of illicit psychoactive drugs and HIV infection among injecting drug users (IDUs) have spread throughout industrialized and developing countries. Extremely rapid transmission of HIV has occurred in IDU populations with incidence rates of 10 to 50/100 person-years. In sharp contrast, there are many examples of very effective HIV risk reduction for IDUs, both in preventing initial epidemics and in bringing existing epidemics under control. IDUs are capable of learning basic information about HIV/AIDS and modifying their behavior to protect both themselves and their peers. Effective HIV prevention for IDUs requires programs that treat IDUs with dignity and respect, provide accurate information and the means for behavior change-access to sterile injection equipment, condoms, and drug abuse treatment. Programs that provide these services need to be implemented on a public health scale for IDU populations at risk for HIV infection.
Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behavior among College Students: Understanding Gender and Ethnic Differences.
Randolph ME, Torres H, Gore-Felton C, Lloyd B, McGarvey EL.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2009 Feb 27:1. [Epub ahead of print]
Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to assess the role of gender and ethnicity in the relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual behavior. Method: Sexually active college students (n = 425) reported on alcohol expectancies, perceived risk of HIV, and drinking and sexual behavior in the context of a larger health behavior survey. Results: Approximately one-third of participants reported binge drinking 3 or more times in the past two weeks. African-American women reported less drinking and less positive alcohol expectancies than other women. Older men engaged more often than younger men in binge drinking and reported more sexual partners in the past year. Younger age and greater perceived risk for HIV were positively associated with condom use for both women and men. Conclusion: Collectively, these findings suggest that alcohol abuse and HIV prevention efforts among young adults need to consider gender, ethnicity, and age.
PMID: 19253158 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Community Characteristics Association With HIV Risk Among Injection drug Users in the San Francisco Bay Area: A Multilevel Analysis
By Ricky N. Bluthenthal, the Health Program and Drug Policy Research Center, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA; D. Phuong Do, Brian Finch, Alexis Martinez, Brian R. Edlin, and Alex H. Kral
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=gateway&pubmedid=17657607
However, few studies have examined whether community characteristics are associated with HIV risk behaviors among IDUs. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the associations between census-tract-level community characteristics and injection-related and sex-related HIV risk behaviors among IDUs in the San Francisco Bay Area. J Urban Health. 2007 September; 84(5): 653–666.
Heterosexual Anal Sex Among Female Drug Users: U.S. National Compared to Local Long Beach, Calif. Data
By Reynolds GL, Latimore AD, Fisher DG of California State University.
http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:17653843
Receptive anal sex is a well-studied Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) high-risk behavior among gay and bisexual men, yet previous research indicates that more women than men may be at risk from heterosexual anal sex (HAS). 1991-1996 data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Cooperative Agreement (CA) were analyzed to model risk for women who reported having had HAS in the 30 days prior to interview. This model was then tested on recent data (2001-2006) collected on women in Long Beach, California. The multivariate model predicting anal sex in the NIDA CA dataset included sex trading; risk perception for HIV; ever had gonorrhea; sex while high; and drugs used in the last 30 days. African American race/ethnicity and older age were inversely associated with HAS. Risk factors common to both samples of women were number of days used amphetamine in the last month and risk perception for HIV. AIDS Behav. 2007 Jul 25