306461
Harm reduction strategies of men who have sex with men and inject drugs
Methods: MSM (N=284) who reported recent sexual behavior, methamphetamine use, and injection drug use were classified using a multinomial latent regression model.
Results: Most participants (95.8%) engaged in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). The most common substances injected were methamphetamine (99.3%), GHB-GLB (42.3%), Rohypnol (40.5%), and cocaine (35.4%), not heroin (20.1%). Participants were classified into three groups. Across groups, common strategies were to avoid sharing syringes and to discuss HIV status with injecting partners. The largest group (n=152) was unlikely to avoid sharing works but was likely to use extra lubricant and serosort when engaging in UAI. The medium-sized class (n=85) did avoid sharing works but was unlikely to use sex strategies. The smallest class (n=58) used a variety of injection and sex strategies. Compared to the largest class, participants in the medium class had more sex partners and higher substance use dependence score (DAST-10), and were more out as gay. Participants in the smallest class had more sex partners and higher dependence scores, but were less out than participants in the largest class.
Conclusions: Methamphetamine-using MSM inject club drugs more than heroin. Interventions should encourage men to avoid sharing works, reduce the number of sex partners, and seek treatment for dependence. Future research should explore the association between outness and the use of harm reduction strategies.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsPublic health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Discuss injection drug use among methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men.
Describe the prevalence of injected substances among study participants.
Identify classifications of methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men by injection and sex harm reduction strategies and variables differentiating class membership.
Keyword(s): Behavioral Research, Drug Abuse
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am principal investigator of a federally funded grant focusing on HIV prevention for methamphetamine-using MSM and principal investigator of a federally funded grant focusing on HIV prevention for MSM in India. I have been a co-investigator on three federally funded grants. My research interests include HIV prevention, harm reduction, and LGBT health disparities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.