Table 3.
Impact of heroin prescription programme on health problems, use of services, and HIV related behaviours, Geneva, 1995-6. Values are numbers (percentages) of subjects unless stated otherwise
| Variable | Experimental group (n=27)
|
Control group (n=21)
|
P value‡ for difference between groups | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Follow up† | Baseline | Follow up† | |||
| Mean (SD) No of days with physical health problem in past 30 days | 7.7 (10.2) | 7.3 (10.7) | 4.6 (8.5) | 10.3 (11.4) | 0.15 | |
| Treated by physician for physical problem in past 6 months | 16 (59) | 18 (67) | 10 (48) | 11 (55) | 1.00 | |
| Mean (SD) No of days with mental health problem in past 30 days | 13.8 (11.8) | 6.1 (9.9)** | 12.2 (11.2) | 7.1 (10.7) | 0.54 | |
| Treated by physician for mental problem in past 6 months | 4 (15) | 15 (56)** | 5 (24) | 2 (10) | 0.008 | |
| Admitted to hospital in past 6 months for physical problems | 8 (30) | 8 (30) | 3 (14) | 3 (14) | 1.00 | |
| Experienced in past 30 days: | ||||||
| Severe depression | 13 (48) | 8 (30) | 10 (48) | 3 (14)* | 1.00 | |
| Severe anxiety | 22 (82) | 12 (44)* | 9 (43) | 9 (43) | 0.14 | |
| Cognitive problems | 12 (44) | 7 (26) | 10 (48) | 11 (52) | 0.27 | |
| Problem controlling violent behaviour | 8 (30) | 5 (18) | 1 (5) | 6 (29) | 0.031 | |
| Suicide attempt in past 6 months | 6 (22) | 1 (4) | 3 (14) | 4 (19) | 0.18 | |
| No of suicide attempts in past 6 months | 8 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0.022 | |
| Non-systematic use of condoms | 17 (63) | 14 (52) | 6 (29) | 8 (38) | 0.14 | |
| Shared injection materials in past 6 months | 12 (44) | 1 (4)** | 5 (24) | 3 (14) | 1.00 | |
| Did not always disinfect skin before injection in past month | 18 (67) | 3 (11)*** | 13 (62) | 9 (43) | 1.00 | |
†
Significance of comparisons between baseline and follow up denoted by **P<0.01, ***P<0.001. Continuous variables: Wilcoxon matched pairs rank sum test (exact), dichotomous variables: McNemar’s test (exact).
‡
Continuous variables: Mann-Whitney U test (exact), dichotomous variables: test of homogeneity of McNemar odds ratio (exact)