Table 1.
HIV and viral hepatitis risk behaviors by socio-demographic characteristics, drug use frequency, and police encounters among people who recently injected in Baltimore, MD (n=367)
| Total | Shared syringes or tools | Never shared syringes or tools | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| 367 | 114 (33) | 228 (67) | |
|
|
|||
| Socio-demographic | |||
| Age > 45 years** | 210 (57) | 51 (45) | 144 (63) |
| Race | |||
| Caucasian and Other** | 65 (18) | 34 (30) | 29 (13) |
| African American | 301 (82) | 80 (70) | 189 (87) |
| Male (compared to Female) | 230 (63) | 72 (63) | 144 (63) |
| Education | |||
| High school or More | 153 (42) | 71 (62) | 129 (57) |
| Less than High school | 213 (58) | 43 (37) | 98 (43) |
| Unemployed <6mo | 326 (89) | 103 (90) | 202 (89) |
| Homeless <6mo** | 94 (26) | 47 (41) | 43 (19) |
| Income <$500 monthly (compared to >$500) | 181 (49) | 55 (33) | 111 (67) |
| HIV positive | 63 (17) | 25 (27) | 34 (19) |
| Returned needles to the NSP | 70 (21) | 26 (23) | 44 (19) |
| Drug use frequency | |||
| Inject heroin* | |||
| ≥ daily | 139 (53) | 51 (56) | 88 (51) |
| 1–4 times per week | 55 (21) | 25 (27) | 30 (17) |
| Less than weekly | 69 (26) | 15 (16) | 54 (31) |
| Inject speedball | |||
| > daily | 76 (37) | 27 (42) | 49 (35) |
| 1–4 times per week | 63 (31) | 25 (39) | 38 (27) |
| Less than weekly | 67 (33) | 13 (20) | 54 (38) |
| Inject cocaine | |||
| ≥ daily | 36 (22) | 12 (19) | 24 (23) |
| 1–4 times per week | 58 (35) | 25 (40) | 33 (32) |
| Less than weekly | 73 (44) | 26 (41) | 47 (45) |
| Exposures to police encounters | |||
| Recent Arrests | |||
| Any arrest | 125 (34) | 44 (39) | 72 (32) |
| Loitering | 35 (28) | 15 (34) | 18 (25) |
| Drug Possession/attempted purchase | 52 (42) | 16 (36) | 35 (48) |
| Stopped by police* | 217 (60) | 81 (71) | 122 (53) |
| Stopped but not arrested* | 101 (28) | 40 (35) | 54 (24) |
**
p<0.001
*
p<0.01