No abstract

Data from 110 IV-drug abusing persons in methadone maintenance were analyzed to determine the correlates of needle sharing. Sharing was directly related to peer group behavior, attitudes conducive to sharing, economic motivation to share, not owning injection equipment, and fatalism about developing AIDS.

Correlates of condom use were identified using crosssectional data from a convenience sample of 211 sexually active intravenous drug users enrolled in methadone maintenance in New York City. Sixty-eight percent did not use condoms at all in the previous month and only 11 percent used condoms every time. Nineteen percent were planning on conception, only 20 percent of whom had been tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody (all seronegative). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that condom use was independently associated with greater personal acceptance of condoms, greater partner receptivity to sexual protection, and recent entry to methadone treatment. Am J Public Health 1990; 80:82-84.)

A cohort sample of 93 addicts admitted to methadone maintenance in four clinics was followed-up for one year to determine change, and predictors of change, in cocaine use. Any use of cocaine in the preceding month decreased from 84% of subjects at admission to 66% at follow-up, and mean days of cocaine use per month for those still using decreased from 16 days to 9 days. Any drug injection in the preceding month decreased from 100% of subjects at admission to 39% at follow-up, among those remaining in the program. Continuance/cessation of cocaine use was not associated with program retention, but cocaine users were more likely to be administratively discharged. Reported symptoms of depression and speedballing at admission were significant predictors of continuance/cessation of cocaine use at follow-up. State-of-the-art cocaine abuse treatment, with attention to treatment of depression, would enhance the value of methadone maintenance for patients with dual heroin/cocaine addiction.

Methadone maintenance patients are at risk of contracting or transmitting HIV through intravenous drug use and/or unsafe sexual practices. An outcome evaluation of a voluntary AIDS prevention program for methadone patients in three clinics (two experimental, one control) is reported. The prevention program included three components: didactic AIDS education, HIV antibody counseling/testing, and facilitated peer support groups. Participation in AIDS education was associated with increased knowledge of AIDS risks and with improved attitudes toward condoms. Peer group participation was associated with improved attitudes toward the use of condoms and with increased use of condoms. Learning of HIV seronegativity was related to increased self-efficacy and decreased intravenous drug use risk behaviors. Rates of participation in the prevention program were disappointing, but the program seemed beneficial for those patients who did become involved.