Drug use and sexual behavior: the multiple HIV vulnerabilities of men and women who inject drugs in Kumasi, Ghana
| Autor: | Lisa J. Messersmith, Thomas Agyarko-Poku, Lora Sabin, Peter Wondergem, Rose Odotei Adjei, Yaw Adu‐Sarkodie, Ariel Falconer, Jennifer Beard |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
Drug
Adult Male medicine.medical_specialty Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject Sexual Behavior Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Developing country Pharmacy HIV Infections medicine.disease_cause Ghana law.invention Nonprobability sampling Condoms Young Adult Condom law Risk Factors medicine Prevalence Humans Pharmacology (medical) Needle Sharing Substance Abuse Intravenous media_common Needle sharing Gynecology business.industry Middle Aged Infectious Diseases Family medicine Female business Peer education |
| Zdroj: | Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999). 68 |
| ISSN: | 1944-7884 |
| Popis: | BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that injecting drug use presents a new challenge to HIV prevention in West Africa. Very little is known about the HIV vulnerability of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Ghana, and no HIV prevention efforts are currently targeting PWID. METHODS Purposive sampling was used to recruit 30 (20 men and 10 women) PWID to participate in in-depth interviews in Kumasi, Ghana. Transcripts were coded and analyzed by theme. RESULTS Half the men and more than half the women in this study reported sharing needles/syringes (N/S); most shared a common mixing container; and all said they shared N/S with intimate partners. Some PWID who said that they do not share N/S with other PWID, also said they routinely use N/S that they find on the ground at injecting sites or in the hospital dumpster. Nearly, all the women (9/10) and more than half the men (12/20) were currently sexually active; most had more than 1 partner in the last 6 months, but very few reported condom use. Three women said they exchanged sex for money and 3 men reported buying sex in the last year. Several PWID had no knowledge of HIV transmission through injecting. CONCLUSIONS PWID in Kumasi are highly vulnerable to HIV because of N/S sharing and reuse, lack of condom use, low knowledge of HIV transmission, and lack of services. Program and policy recommendations include N/S and condom distribution, peer education, opioid substitution therapy, and training of health providers, police, and pharmacy staff. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|