Needle Use and Sexual Practices: Differences in Perception of Personal Risk of HIV among Intravenous Drug Users

Abstract

Of 161 out-of-treatment intravenous drug users interviewed in Portland, Oregon, where syringes and needles can be purchased without prescription, 52% reported sharing needles with others in the preceding year and 55% reported practicing unsafe sex. There was a high level of knowledge of the HIV transmission risk associated with both needle sharing and sexual practices. However, while those with unsafe needle use perceived their risk of contracting HIV as greater than those with safer needle use, those practicing unsafe sex did not see their risk as greater than those practicing safer sex. Unsafe needle use and unsafe sex require different approaches to intervention and sexual risk reduction education needs to be specifically targeted at helping IVDUs better understand their sexual relationships in terms of their risk of contracting HIV.