TABLE 1—
Overall Characteristics of 24 Syringe Exchange Programs (SEPs): California, 2000 and 2002
| 2000,a No. (% or Range) | 2002, No. (% or Range) | |
| Syringe dispensation category | ||
| Unlimited, need-based syringe exchange | 4 (17) | 5 (21) |
| Unlimited 1-for-1 syringe exchange plus 5 to 10 additional syringes | 7 (29) | 6 (25) |
| 1-for-1 exchange plus plus 5 to 10 additional syringes with a limit on syringes that could be exchanged | 1 (4) | 3 (13) |
| Unlimited 1-for-1 exchange | 11 (46) | 8 (33) |
| Strict 1-for-1 exchange with a limit on syringes exchanged per visit | 1 (4) | 2 (8) |
| Active injection drug users work at SEP | 12 (50) | 16 (67) |
| Syringe shortages during year | 7 (29) | 7 (29) |
| Supply shortages during year | 4 (17) | 4 (17) |
| Police harassment of SEP staff or volunteers | 10 (42) | 5 (21) |
| Police presence near SEP during year | 5 (21) | 8 (33) |
| Police harass SEP clients near site during year | 13 (54) | 10 (42) |
| Lack of political support reported | 13 (54) | 10 (42) |
| On-site HIV testing | 21 (87) | 20 (83) |
| On-site HCV testing | 13 (54) | 15 (63) |
| Average paid staff | 3.04 (0–14) | 3.75 (0–10) |
| Average volunteers | 10.66 (0–80) | 14.29 (0–112) |
| Average days open per week | 4.13 (1–7) | 4.54 (2–7) |
| Average hours open per week | 17.17 (1–77) | 26.08 (6–126) |
| Average client contactsb | 7 040 (148 to > 40 000c) | 7 092 (600 to > 40 000c) |
| Average syringes exchanged | 296 685 (1500 to > 1 millionc) | 341 162 (1000 to > 1 millionc) |
| Average budget for SEP | 121 296 (5000 to > 500 000c) | 186 065 (7046 to > 500 000c) |
Note. HCV = hepatitis C virus.
aFor comparison purposes we included data from 2001 for 1 SEP where 2000 data was not available.
bTwo programs were missing data on client contacts or number of syringes exchanged for 2000 or 2002. For these programs, we estimated client contacts and number of syringes exchanged using the averages of number of syringes exchanged per client from other years.
cRanges for client contacts, syringes exchanged, and budget are listed as “greater than” to protect the confidentiality of individual programs.