Table 1.
Sociodemographic characteristics, injection practices, syringe acquisition and disposal, service utilization, experiences at pharmacies and beliefs about pharmacies and syringe exchange programs for control and intervention IDUs in New York City, 2006–2007 (N=95)
| Number and Percentage (%) with each Syringe Source |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables, No. (%) | All IDUs (n=95) |
Control IDUs (n=66) |
Intervention IDUs (n=29) |
P-value |
| Sociodemographic Variables | ||||
| Age | <0.0001 | |||
| 18 to 29 | 16 (17.6) | 13 (19.7) | 3 (12.0) | |
| 30 to 39 | 40 (44.0) | 36 (54.5) | 4 (16.0) | |
| 40 to 49 | 25 (27.5) | 12 (18.2) | 13 (52.0) | |
| 50 and older | 10 (11.0) | 5 (7.6) | 5 (20.0) | |
| Age (Median) | 37 | 35.5 | 45 | <0.0001 |
| Sex (Male) | 74 (81.3) | 53 (80.3) | 21 (84.0) | 0.77 |
| Race | 0.04 | |||
| African American / Black | 19 (21.1) | 9 (13.6) | 10 (41.7) | |
| Hispanic | 56 (62.2) | 45 (68.2) | 11 (45.8) | |
| White | 8 (8.9) | 6 (9.1) | 2 (8.3) | |
| Other | 7 (7.8) | 6 (9.1) | 1 (4.2) | |
| Education (≥ HS diploma/GED) | 55 (61.1) | 37 (56.1) | 18 (75.0) | 0.21 |
| Homeless in the past 6 months | 48 (53.3) | 38 (57.6) | 10 (41.7) | 0.18 |
| Traded sex for money in the past 6 months | 23 (25.6) | 23 (34.8) | 0 (0.0) | <0.001 |
| Injection practices | ||||
| Used a needle used by someone else before you in the past 6 months |
22 (25.29) | 17 (28.8) | 5 (17.9) | 0.27 |
| Used only new needles in the past 6m | 60 (67.4) | 41 (67.2) | 19 (67.9) | 0.95 |
| Passed a needle along after using it in the past 6m | 33 (37.1) | 27 (44.3) | 6 (21.4) | 0.04 |
| Average number of times injecting with a syringe before disposing of it, mean (standard deviation) |
3.1 (3.0) | 3.4 (3.4) | 2.5 (1.8) | 0.14 |
| Injected ≥ 5 years | 78 (86.7) | 55 (83.3) | 23 (95.8) | 0.17 |
| Syringe acquisition in the past 2 months | ||||
| Pharmacy | 65 (69.2) | 41 (62.1) | 24 (85.7) | 0.02 |
| Needle Exchange Program | 20 (21.7) | 13 (20.3) | 7 (25.0) | 0.50 |
| MD, PA, or nurse | 1 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (3.6) | 0.30 |
| Shooting gallery | 2 (2.1) | 1 (1.5) | 1 (3.6) | 0.51 |
| Diabetic | 10 (10.6) | 7 (10.6) | 3 (19.7) | 1.00 |
| Non-Diabetic friend | 11 (11.8) | 5 (7.7) | 6 (21.4) | 0.08 |
| Non-Diabetic relative | 2 (2.1) | 2 (3.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.10 |
| Drug or needle dealer | 7 (7.5) | 4 (6.1) | 3 (10.7) | 0.42 |
| Other source | 3 (3.2) | 2 (3.0) | 1 (3.6) | 1.00 |
| Syringe disposal in the past 2 months | ||||
| Brought it to a needle exchange program | 10 (10.6) | 7 (10.6) | 3 (10.7) | 0.69 |
| Brought it to a free-standing clinic/health department | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Threw it away | 70 (74.5) | 47 (71.2) | 23 (82.1) | |
| Put it in a sharps container, Fitpack or soda/laundry bottle and then threw it away |
10 (10.6) | 9 (13.6) | 1 (3.6) | |
| Other | 3 (3.2) | 2 (3.0) | 1 (3.6) | |
| Service utilization in the past 2 months | ||||
| Any drug treatment | 36 (38.3) | 28 (42.2) | 8 (28.6) | 0.21 |
| Community health clinic | 12 (13.0) | 6 (9.4) | 6 (21.4) | 0.18 |
| Private medical office | 16 (17.6) | 8 (12.7) | 8 (28.6) | 0.08 |
| ER | 22 (25.0) | 17 (27.0) | 5 (20.0) | 0.50 |
| Any use of case management, social work and/or counseling services |
52 (54.7) | 38 (57.6) | 14 (48.3) | 0.40 |
| Experiences at a pharmacy in the past 2 months | ||||
| Asked to sign a log book or to provide personal information | 7 (9.5) | 3 (6.3) | 4 (15.4) | 0.23 |
| Asked what syringes will be used for | 3 (4.1) | 2 (4.2) | 1 (3.8) | 1.00 |
| Pharmacist declined to sell syringes | 9 (12.2) | 5 (10.4) | 4 (15.4) | 0.71 |
| Pharmacist refused to sell a single syringe | 9 (12.2) | 5 (10.4) | 4 (15.4) | 0.71 |
| Pharmacist gave information | 8 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (28.6) | 0.55 |
| Felt comfortable/very comfortable receiving information from the pharmacist |
14 (87.5) | 2 (100.0) | 12 (85.7) | 1.0 |
| Would go to this or any other pharmacist in order to get any needed referral services |
10 (33.3) | 0 (0.0) | 10 (38.5) | 0.27 |
| Would return to this pharmacy in order to purchase syringes in the future |
29 (93.6) | 4 (100.0) | 25 (92.6) | 1.00 |
| Would return to this pharmacy in order to purchase household/health/beauty products |
20 (64.5) | 2 (50.0) | 18 (66.7) | 0.60 |
| Would return to this pharmacy in order to refill medication prescriptions |
24 (77.4) | 2 (50.0) | 22 (81.5) | 0.21 |
| Beliefs about pharmacies and syringe exchange programs | ||||
| Feel that pharmacists care about my health and well being | 34 (44.7) | 17 (34.7) | 17 (63.0) | 0.02 |
| Feel comfortable trying to buy a syringe at any pharmacy even if I don’t know if they will sell one to me before I go into the store |
48 (65.8) | 25 (54.3) | 23 (85.2) | <0.01 |
| Feel that the staff at syringe exchange programs care about my health and well being |
58 (81.7) | 34 (75.6) | 24 (92.3) | 0.11 |
| Feel that syringe exchange programs are sometimes too far away to get to |
36 (49.3) | 25 (54.3) | 11 (40.7) | 0.26 |
| Feel that it is hard to make syringe exchange program hours | 34 (46.6) | 24 (52.2) | 10 (37.0) | 0.21 |
| Feel that it is difficult to get a clean syringe when he/she needs one |
16 (20.8) | 13 (26.5) | 3 (10.7) | 0.10 |
| Feel that getting other services at syringe exchange programs is important |
60 (84.5) | 37 (84.1) | 23 (85.2) | 1.00 |
| Fell that he/she knows which pharmacies to go to for syringes |
72 (94.7) | 44 (91.7) | 28 (100.0) | 0.29 |