 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Carmen L. Masson, PhD1, James L. Sorensen, PhD2, David C. Perlman, MD3, Lhasa Ray, BS1, Kevin Delucchi, PhD4, Nina Grossman, BA5, Karl A. Sporer, MD6, Ciaran Phibbs, PhD7, and Sharon M. Hall, PhD4. (1) Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, CA 94110, 415-206-8404, masson@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco-San Francisco General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Ave, Building 20, Room 2117, San Francisco, CA 94110, (3) Department of Medicine; Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute, Beth Israel Medical Center, First Avenue at 16th Street, New York, NY 10003, (4) Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., Box 0984-TRC, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, (5) San Francisco AIDS Foundation HIV Prevention Project, P.O Box 429018, San Francisco, CA 94142, (6) Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Avenue, 1E21, NH, San Francisco, CA 94110, (7) CEnter for Heatlh Care Evaluation, VA Medical Center, 795 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
OBJECTIVE: We studied the effects of syringe exchange program (SEP) delivery setting on health status and medical service use among out-of-treatment injection drug users. METHODS: Participants were randomized to: 1) an existing community-based or 2) a study established hospital-based SEP. Participants were interviewed about their health status (SF-36), medical service use, and drug use practices. Hospital administrative records were used to assess medical service use. RESULTS: Of the first 106 participants with 6-month follow-up data: 23% were female, 55% Caucasian, 23% African American, 17% Hispanic, 5% Other/Mixed, mean age 41 yrs., 68% homeless, 73% opioid users, and 42% reported fair or poor health. Fifteen percent were treated in the emergency department in the previous 6 months, 13% had been hospitalized, and 14% were seen in ambulatory care settings. Overall, pain and its impact on activities of daily living decreased at 6-month follow-up (p < .05). There were no differences between groups on emergency department, inpatient, or ambulatory care service use during the first 6 months of study participation. Preliminary findings from this study suggest that participation in SEPs may have a positive impact on health status. Longer-term follow-up among a larger sample is needed to make meaningful statements about differences on health status and medical care utilization for the two syringe exchange delivery models.
This work was supported by NIH Grants KO1DA008408 and P50DA09253, and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation HIV Prevention Project.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Medical Care, Injection Drug Users
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.