This analysis describes the Outreach-Assisted Model of Partner Notification, an innovative strategy for encouraging seropositive injecting drug users (IDUs) to inform their partners of shared human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure. The analysis focuses on two core components of the notification process: the identification of at-risk partners and preferences for self-tell vs. outreach assistance in informing partners of possible exposure to the virus.|Using community outreach techniques, 386 IDUs were recruited for HIV pretest counseling, testing, and partner notification over a 12-month period. Of these, 63 tested HIV seropositive, and all but three returned for their test results. The 60 who were informed of their serostatus were randomly assigned to either a minimal or an enhanced intervention condition. Participants assigned to the minimal (self-tell) group were strongly encouraged to inform their partners of possible exposure. Those assigned to the enhanced (outreach-assisted) group had the option of either informing one or more of their partner(s) themselves or choosing to have the project's outreach team do so.|Together, the 60 index persons who received their results provided names or at least one piece of locating information for a total of 142 partners with whom they perceived having shared possible exposure to the virus within the past five years. By itself, drug use accounted for half of all partners named. Sexual behavior alone accounted for 25% of named partners. Eighty-two percent of the enhanced group preferred to have the outreach team tell at least one partner; the team was requested to notify 71% of the total number of partners whom this group named.|Findings suggest that IDUs want to notify their partners of shared HIV exposure. Outreach assistance was the preferred mode in the majority of cases. Expanding traditional community-based HIV outreach activities to include delivering street-based counseling, test, a partner notification appears to be a positive and workable prevention strategy.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in collaboration with the Office of AIDS Research of the National Institutes of Health, invited national ...
06/01/1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):81-89
Description:
To break the link between drug use and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), in 1992 the state of Connecticut rescinded a 14-year ban on pharmacy sa...
06/01/1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):31-41
Description:
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the results of a randomized study (funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA]) comparing a peer-...
06/01/1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):58-66
Description:
Community-based outreach to drug injectors is an important component of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention strategy. The purpose of this ch...
06/01/1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):19-30
Description:
Over the past decade, a body of observational research has accrued about the effects of outreach-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) intervention...
As the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic among drug users enters its third decade in the United States, it is important to consider t...
This chapter attempts to describe the factors influencing the transmission of syringe-born viruses, to review the effects of syringe exchange programs...
Since 1985, community outreach efforts to combat acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among injecting drug users (IDUs) in the United States have...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):194-204
Description:
After more than 10 years of experience conducting behavioral changes interventions and with accumulated research results, several emergent principle h...
Injecting drug users (IDUs) are at high risk for infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other blood-borne pathogens. In the United States...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):182-188
Description:
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was formally identified among injecting drug users (IDUs) in 1981, and research on preventing human immunode...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):189-193
Description:
Five policy advocates and practitioners provide recommendations to researchers to make research data more usable, accessible, and applicable for the f...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):116-128
Description:
High risk injection practices are common among injecting drug users (IDUs), even following intervention efforts. Moreover, relapse to risk behaviors h...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):129-139
Description:
Although lowering incidence rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission is the primary goal of needle exchange programs (NEPs), other des...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):107-115
Description:
We undertook a study of the role of methadone maintenance in protecting injecting drug users (IDUs) from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection ...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):140-150
Description:
To review human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk reduction interventions among injecting drug users (IDUs) that have adopted a network approach.|The ...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):170-181
Description:
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection associated with injecting drug use has been reported in at least 98 countries and territories worldwide. ...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):151-159
Description:
Guided by a social influence and empowerment framework, peer leaders in the injecting drug user (IDU) community were trained to promote human immunode...
Jun 1998 | Public Health Rep. 113(Suppl 1):140-150
Description:
To review human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk reduction interventions among injecting drug users (IDUs) that have adopted a network approach.|The ...
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