Methadone maintenance as HIV risk reduction with street-recruited injecting drug users.

OBJECTIVE

To compare changes in HIV risk behaviors between street-recruited opiate injectors who entered and remained in methadone maintenance treatment and those who did not.

METHODS

Three hundred sixteen participants were interviewed at baseline, received outreach interventions, and were interviewed again 6 months later.

RESULTS

Significant (p <.001) reductions in HIV-related risk behaviors, including frequency of injecting, injecting with used (dirty) needles, and sharing injection paraphernalia, were demonstrated. Participants (31%) who entered and remained in methadone maintenance treatment for at least 90 days before follow-up showed a significantly greater reduction in heroin injections than those who did not. They did not show a greater reduction in using dirty needles or sharing other injection paraphernalia.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that although methadone maintenance may reduce injection frequency, it does not reduce other HIV-related risk behaviors above and beyond what can be accomplished through outreach interventions. Treatment facilities and outreach intervention programs should collaborate to provide a comprehensive approach to reducing HIV risk behaviors among drug injectors both in and out of drug treatment.