Project dates: September 1999 - August 2006
Three types of programs have been shown to be effective in reducing HIV risk behaviors among IDUs: community outreach, drug treatment, and syringe exchange programs (SEPs). While national assessments of community outreach and drug treatment have been conducted, there have not been assessments of the state of syringe exchange programs in the United States. The study examined syringe exchange programs in the U.S. and described the following aspects of the programs: the organizational characteristics of SEPs operating in the U.S. with a description of change in these programs over time; the demographic characteristics and risk behaviors of SEP participants; the individual-level factors associated with continued or persistent risk behaviors; the SEP organizational characteristics associated with risk among participants; the relationships between SEP characteristics and change in risk behaviors among participants; and the HIV incidence among participants in large SEPs. Findings will be useful for HIV prevention planning in the U.S., as well as understanding persistent risk behavior among persons already participating in prevention programs.
Abstract on NIH RePORTERNeighborhood history as a factor shaping syringe distribution networks among drug users at a U.S. syringe exchange
Social Networks, 30 (3), 235-246. doi: 10.1016/j.socnet.2008.03.003. PMCID: PMC2597848.
Des Jarlais DC, Braine N, Friedmann P (2007).
Unstable housing as a factor for increased injection risk behavior at US syringe exchange programs
AIDS and Behavior, 11 (Suppl 2), S78-S84. doi: 10.1007/s10461-007-9227-6.
Des Jarlais DC, Braine N, Yi H, Turner C (2007).
Residual injection risk behavior, HIV infection, and the evaluation of syringe exchange programs
AIDS Education and Prevention, 19 (2), 111-123. doi: 10.1521/aeap.2007.19.2.111.
Braine N, Des Jarlais DC, Goldblatt C, Zadoretzky C, Turner C (2006).
Patterns of sexual commerce among women at US syringe exchange programs
Culture Health and Sexuality, 8 (4), 289-302. doi: 10.1080/13691050600761144.
Des Jarlais DC, Sloboda Z, Friedman SR, Tempalski B, McKnight C, Braine N (2006).
Diffusion of the D.A.R.E. and syringe exchange programs
American Journal of Public Health, 96 (8), 1354-1358. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.060152. PMCID: PMC1522095.
Braine N, Des Jarlais DC, Goldblatt C, Zadoretzky C, Turner C (2005).
HIV risk behavior among amphetamine injectors at U.S. syringe exchange programs
AIDS Education and Prevention, 17 (6), 515-524. doi: 10.1521/aeap.2005.17.6.515.
Braine N, Des Jarlais DC, Ahmad S, Purchase D, Turner C (2004).
Long-term effects of syringe exchange on risk behavior and HIV prevention
AIDS Education and Prevention, 16 (3), 264-275. doi: 10.1521/aeap.16.3.264.35436.
Des Jarlais DC, Braine N (2004).
Assessing syringe exchange programs
Addiction, 99 (9), 1081-1082. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00800.x.