| Affiliation: | (1) Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada;(2) Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;(3) School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, Texas, USA;(4) Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, USA;(5) Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA;(6) St Pauls Hospital, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6Z 1Y6 |
| Abstract: | HIV testing and counseling has been associated with reductions in risk behaviors in some populations. This study examined whether involvement in a long-term study, including exposure to repeated HIV testing and counseling, was associated with increased condom use among injection drug users (IDUs) through a retrospective analysis of an IDU cohort from Baltimore, MD, during 1994–1998. Eligibility included being aged 18 years or older, injecting within 10 years and not having initiated antiretroviral therapy. A logistic model of high versus low risk, based on condom use, was used. Of 322 eligible IDUs, most were male (66%) and African-American (94%). No significant change in the odds of inconsistent condom use was observed with continued study exposure. Condom use remained low, indicating a need for interventions to reduce sexual risks and HIV transmission in this population. |
