Hepatit- och HIV-förebyggande program nådde var tredje narkoman. Utvärdering av samarbetsprojekt i Uppsala län
Sammanfattning
In the absence of a legal needle exchange programme (NEP), the objective of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of voluntary HIV and hepatitis counselling and testing in association with a vaccination programme against hepatitis A and B among injecting and non-injecting drug users in Uppsala County. During the first 34 months, the vaccination programme recruited 293 individuals (266 men, 27 women). Of these 293 individuals, 145 individuals admitted to intravenous drug use (IDU) and 98 to non-injecting drug use (non-IDUs). 50 participants denied using drugs or had incomplete information and were therefore excluded from the final analysis. Thus, the final sample consisted of 243 participants (217 males, 26 females). Among the IDUs, 74% admitted amphetamine use, 29% used heroin and 11% used cocaine. Among non-IDUs, the most common drugs were cannabis (59%) and amphetamine (22%). One individual tested HIV-positive and he was previously known by the health care system to be positive. Of the IDUs, 63% had hepatitis C, which can be compared with only 2% among the non-IDUs (p<0.001). The vast majority of drug users were susceptible to hepatitis A and B, where more than 80% accepted vaccination against hepatitis A and B. The acceptance rate was similar among the IDUs and non-IDUs. The data suggest that a broad co-operation between public health, medical and social authorities and prison and probation administrations can effectively reach individuals with heavy or lighter drug use, inform and motivate them to HIV and hepatitis testing, and finally to accept hepatitis A and B vaccination.