Skin and needle hygiene intervention for injection drug users: Results from a randomized, controlled Stage I pilot trial

Abstract A new skin and needle hygiene intervention, designed to reduce high-risk injection practices associated with bacterial and viral infections, was tested in a pilot, randomized controlled trial. Participants included 48 active heroin injectors recruited through street outreach and randomized...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of substance abuse treatment 2012-10, Vol.43 (3), p.313-321
Main Authors: Phillips, Kristina T., Ph.D, Stein, Michael D., M.D, Anderson, Bradley J., Ph.D, Corsi, Karen F., Sc.D., M.P.H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Bacterial infection
Bacterial infections
Bacterial Infections - epidemiology
Bacterial Infections - etiology
Bacterial Infections - prevention & control
Behavior modification
Clinical trials
Demonstrations
Disease prevention
Drug use
Feasibility Studies
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health Behavior
Heroin
High risk
Humans
Hygiene
Indexing in process
Infectious diseases
Injection drug use
Injections
Intervention
Male
Middle Aged
Needles - standards
Pilot Projects
Psychiatry
Randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trials
Risk reduction
Risk Reduction Behavior
Risk-Taking
Skin Care - methods
Substance Abuse, Intravenous - complications
Virus Diseases - epidemiology
Virus Diseases - etiology
Virus Diseases - prevention & control
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Summary:Abstract A new skin and needle hygiene intervention, designed to reduce high-risk injection practices associated with bacterial and viral infections, was tested in a pilot, randomized controlled trial. Participants included 48 active heroin injectors recruited through street outreach and randomized to either a 2-session intervention or an assessment-only condition (AO) and followed up for 6 months. The primary outcome was skin- and needle-cleaning behavioral skills measured by videotaped demonstration. Secondary outcomes were high-risk injection practices, intramuscular injection, and bacterial infections. Intervention participants had greater improvements on the skin ( d = 1.00) and needle-cleaning demonstrations ( d = .52) and larger reductions in high-risk injection practices ( d = .32) and intramuscular injection ( d = .29), with a lower incidence rate of bacterial infections (hazard ratio = .80), at 6 months compared with AO. The new intervention appears feasible and promising as a brief intervention to reduce bacterial and viral risks associated with drug injection.
ISSN:0740-5472
1873-6483
DOI:10.1016/j.jsat.2012.01.003