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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Milton Mino, Sherry Deren, PhD, Sung-Yeon Kang, PhD, and Honoria Guarino, PhD. Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, National Development and Research Institutes, 71 West 23rd Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010, (212) 845-4475, mino@ndri.org

Background: Participating in civic activities, such as working with community groups or voting, are sometimes related to positive health outcomes. This study examines the associations between political participation and HIV related risk behaviors among injection drug users, an area where almost no research exists. Methods: Participants (n=51) were migrant drug users from Puerto Rico, defined as persons who used heroin or cocaine while living in P.R, and who injected drugs in the past 30 days. Subjects were recruited at methadone clinics and through street-based outreach in NYC's East Harlem and Lower East Side neighborhoods. Bivariate and regression analysis were conducted with number of monthly injections and sharing needles or paraphernalia as dependent variables. Results: Participants were mostly male (78%) and had a mean age of 42 years. Those who were registered to vote injected fewer times per month (100 vs. 40; p=.026), as did those who considered themselves part of any political party (111 vs. 41; p=.027). Controlling for age, gender and homelessness, voting registration was negatively associated to injection frequency (standardized coefficient = -.290, p=.030), and identifying with any political party was related to decreased injection frequency (standardized coefficient = -.461, p=.001). Conclusions: The findings suggest that marginalized populations who remain connected to mainstream civic activities, such as registering to vote or identifying with a political group, are less likely to engage in certain high risk injection practices than their counterparts who are not engaged in these activities.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to

• Describe the relationship between high-risk drug injection and political participation.
• Discuss the implications of these findings for work with drug using populations.
• Evaluate the utility of including civic and political participation measures in drug use and health studies.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered