AimsTo examine drug use behavior of clients attending Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) programs and its relationship with the clients’ social network characteristics.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingFour MMT clinics in Kunming, Yunnan province, China.Participants324 consecutive MMT clients.MeasurementsA structured, self-completed questionnaire on background characteristics and existing social network. Current drug use was assessed by urine test for opiate metabolites.AnalysisThe association between client's social network characteristics and their own current drug use behavior is analysed using multiple logistic regression adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are obtained to give the strength of the associations.FindingsMMT clients were more likely to concurrently use heroin while attending MMT if their social network had any of the following characteristics: more than half of the members were older than them (AOR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.00,1.06), any member had a high level of influence on them (AOR = 6.47, 95% CI = 2.86,14.65) and any member joined them in using drugs (AOR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.04,3.63). Having a social network member who could provide emotional support (AOR = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.03,0.35), having a spouse and/or child in their social network (AOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.24,0.81) and having a social network member with a high level of closeness (AOR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.09,0.90) were associated with a decreased odds of heroin use.ConclusionSocial networks who could provide MMT clients with emotional support and a close relationship were significant factors for reducing the risk of concurrent drug use among clients attending MMT clinics in Kunming, China. Behavioral interventions should address the role of family and social network members in providing support to these clients.

Background: For most HIV/AIDS patients who adhere to their medication regimens, Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) effectively controls viral load, reduces the incidence of AIDS diagnoses, and lowers HIVassociated mortality. Despite strong evidence that HAART effectively increases survival in people living with HIV/ AIDS, HIV-infected individuals not only need to endure the physiological changes that occur during therapy, but they may also face social and psychological problems. However, few research studies have paid attention to the quality of life of injection drug users (IDUs) living with HIV. This paper examines quality of life among IDUs living with HIV/ AIDS relative to IDUs without HIV/AIDS. Methods:A total of 71 HIV-infected IDUs from 4 methadone clinics in northern Taiwan completed a structured questionnaire that included demographics and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale brief version (WHOQOL-BREF). Another 71 HIV-negative IDUs were randomly sampled from 528 available methadone patients at the same 4 clinics as the control group. Scores from the WHOQOL-BREF were compared between HIV-positive and HIV-negative IDUs. Results:Results from multivariate multiple linear regression indicated that after controlling for all other demography and clinical factors, average scores in these four domains of WHOQOL-BREF were significantly higher among HIV-negative patients compared with those in HIV-positive patients. The greatest group difference appeared in the social relations domain, followed by the psychological domain and then the environmental domain, with the least difference found in the physical domain. Conclusion:The findings suggest that social relations and psychological issues are of great concerns for IDUs, especially HIV-positive patients. This indicates that understanding the impact of HIV infection on the quality of life particularly in the psychological and social relations realms is an important topic of future research.