Psychosocial considerations for the prevention of HIV infection in injecting drug users

Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss a study that investigated the meaning that injecting drug users attribute to risk behaviors linked to HIV transmission, especially through the use of nonsterile syringes or the failure to use condoms. To do this, social discourses with respect to the prevention of HIV infection are evaluated. The discussion focuses on how these discourses affect the daily practices of heroin users, practices that in turn influence discourses. Ethnography was used to observe 78 heroin users and 35 people following a methadone treatment program. Observation was carried out in a central district of Barcelona, Spain, with a low socioeconomic level. The results are a useful starting point for generating strategies aimed at preventing HIV transmission among this population on personal, community, and sociostructural levels.