[Quantitative evaluation of sharing practices of materials at risk for infectious virus contamination by intravenous opiate users seeking treatment--application of the RAB(Risk for AIDS Behavior) self-administered questionnaire]

Abstract

The objective of this study was to quantify the occurrence of AIDS risk related sharing activities in i.v. opiate users seeking treatment using a self administered questionnaire. Subjects were recruited among first time consultants of an outpatient clinic and assessed using the Risk for AIDS Behavior questionnaire (RAB), a self administered questionnaire that assesses both needle-sharing and unprotected sexual activity; the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) a self administered questionnaire that assesses depressive symptoms; and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), a 45-min, structured interview that provides assessments of problem severity in seven functional areas commonly impaired among drug abusers. Among the 102 patients who came in for treatment, all 66 subjects reporting i.v. drug abuse agreed to participate. The study was based on the data collected from these 66 subjects of whom 49 were males (74%) and mean age +/- SD was 31 +/- 5. Fifty-eight-percent of theses subjects reported having shared needles or related paraphernalia over the past 6 months. Despite informational campaigns on the risks of sharing and despite the well spread knowledge of such a risk, most i.v. opiate users seeking treatment report having shared at least once over the previous 6 months.