Risk Factors for Infective Endocarditis and Serious Injection Related Infections Among People Who Inject Drugs in Los Angeles, CA and Denver, CO.

Background: Injection drug use-related infective endocarditis (IDU-IE) and bacterial infections have grown in the United States, but little is known about risk factors for these infections in community samples of people who inject drugs (PWID).

Methods: During 2021-22, PWID were recruited from community settings and surveyed for history of IDU-IE, serious injection related symptoms (SIRI) and untreated infection symptoms in the last 3 months. We used bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression to examine factors associated with these outcomes.

Material hardship, forced displacement, and negative health outcomes among unhoused people who use drugs in Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado: a latent class analysis.

Background: Homelessness is a growing concern in the United States, especially among people who use drugs (PWUD). The degree of material hardship among this population may be linked to worse health outcomes. PWUD experiencing homelessness in urban areas are increasingly subjected to policies and social treatment, such as forced displacement, which may worsen material hardship.

Material Hardship, Forced Displacement, and Negative Health Outcomes Among Unhoused People Who Use Drugs in Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado: A Latent Class Analysis.

Background: Homelessness is a growing concern in the United States, especially among people who use drugs (PWUD). The degree of material hardship among this population may be linked to worse health outcomes. PWUD experiencing homelessness in urban areas are increasingly subjected to policies and social treatment, such as forced displacement, which may worsen material hardship.

Housing and Displacement as Risk Factors for Negative Health Outcomes Among People Who Inject Drugs in Los Angeles, CA, and Denver, CO, USA.

Background The United States is currently experiencing a housing and homelessness crisis. In response, many cities have adopted policies of displacement that move unhoused people from place to place. Recent research indicates that these policies may have negative health impacts on unhoused people who use drugs.

Reasons for Marijuana Use and Its Perceived Effectiveness in Therapeutic and Recreational Marijuana Users Among People Living with HIV in Florida.

Therapeutic and recreational marijuana use are common among people living with HIV (PLWH). However, the distinction between perceived "therapeutic" and "recreational" use is blurred, with little information about the specific reasons for use and perceived marijuana effectiveness in adults with chronic conditions. We aimed to compare reasons for use and reason-specific perceived marijuana effectiveness between therapeutic and recreational users among PLWH.

Interventions to Reduce Drug Use Among Methamphetamine Users at Risk for HIV.

Purpose Of Review: This paper reports on the results of a study comparing two behavioral treatments for methamphetamine users. The outcome was the effectiveness of the interventions in reducing meth use. The interventions were contingency management (CM) and contingency management plus strengths-based case management (CM/SBCM).

A Hazard Analysis of Risk Factors of Mortality in Individuals Who Inject Drugs in Denver CO.

Despite multiple risk factors for mortality among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID), more research is warranted that examines sub-populations within PWID. Mortality data from PWID participating in longitudinal HIV prevention research in Denver were obtained from The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Risk factors for both all-cause and acute-toxicity related mortality were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Awareness, Perception of Risk and Behaviors Related to Retail Marijuana Among a Sample of Colorado Youth.

Youth marijuana use is a growing concern with increasingly permissive views towards marijuana use. Little is known about attitudes and beliefs toward marijuana use among youth in the context of legalization. This study describes youth attitudes and beliefs about health risks associated with marijuana use, social norms of peer use, conversations with parents about marijuana use, and knowledge of recreational marijuana laws, using a venue-day-time sampling approach with diverse Colorado youth (n = 241) post-legalization.

Public Health Effects of Medical Marijuana Legalization in Colorado.

Introduction: The public health consequences of the legalization of marijuana, whether for medical or recreational purposes, are little understood. Despite this, numerous states are considering medical or recreational legalization. In the context of abrupt changes in marijuana policy in 2009 in Colorado, the authors sought to investigate corresponding changes in marijuana-related public health indicators.

Is cannabis use associated with less opioid use among people who inject drugs?

Background: Clinical, experimental, and ethnographic research suggests that cannabis may be used to help manage pain. Ethnographic research has revealed that some people are using cannabis to temper their illicit opioid use. We seek to learn if there is an association between cannabis use and the frequency of nonmedical opioid use among people who inject drugs (PWID).

Gender and risk behaviors for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among recently released inmates: A prospective cohort study.

Women in prison have a higher prevalence of HIV than men. After release from prison, former inmates have the opportunity to engage in risk behaviors for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We sought to assess change in risk behaviors over time and the association of gender with risk behavior in the postrelease period.

Law enforcement practices associated with HIV infection among injection drug users in Odessa, Ukraine.

Despite HIV prevention efforts over the past 10 years in Odessa, Ukraine, HIV rates among injection drug users (IDUs) remain high. We explored whether IDUs' experiences with the police and court system in Odessa were associated with HIV serostatus, after controlling for other factors. Qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews with the police and members of court (N = 19), and focus groups with IDUs (N = 42), were employed to aid in developing a survey instrument for a larger quantitative phase and to assist in interpreting the findings from the quantitative phase, which included 200 participants who were interviewed and tested for HIV.

The Feasibility of Interventions to Reduce HIV Risk and Drug Use among Heterosexual Methamphetamine Users.

This paper reports on a feasibility study that examined contingency management among out-of-treatment, heterosexual methamphetamine users and the reduction of drug use and HIV risk. Fifty-eight meth users were recruited through street outreach in Denver from November 2006 through March 2007. The low sample size reflects that this was a pilot study to see if CM is feasible in an out-of-treatment, street-recruited population of meth users.

Medical Marijuana Use and Parenting: A Qualitative Study.

Background: The number of medical marijuana patients is increasing. This increase raises important concerns about how medical marijuana use may affect parenting.

Methods: Thirty-two adult medical marijuana patients participated in focus groups.

Development of a risk reduction intervention to reduce bacterial and viral infections for injection drug users.

Bacterial infections are widespread problems among drug injectors, requiring novel preventive intervention. As part of a NIDA-funded study, we developed an intervention based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model, past research, injection hygiene protocols, and data collected from focus groups with 32 injectors in Denver in 2009. Qualitative responses from focus groups indicated that most participants had experienced skin abscesses and believed that bacterial infections were commonly a result of drug cut, injecting intramuscularly, and reusing needles.

Return to drug use and overdose after release from prison: a qualitative study of risk and protective factors.

Background: Former inmates are at high risk for death from drug overdose, especially in the immediate post-release period. The purpose of the study is to understand the drug use experiences, perceptions of overdose risk, and experiences with overdose among former prisoners.

Methods: This qualitative study included former prison inmates (N=29) who were recruited within two months after their release.

Skin and needle hygiene intervention for injection drug users: results from a randomized, controlled Stage I pilot trial.

A new skin and needle hygiene intervention, designed to reduce high-risk injection practices associated with bacterial and viral infections, was tested in a pilot, randomized controlled trial. Participants included 48 active heroin injectors recruited through street outreach and randomized to either a 2-session intervention or an assessment-only condition (AO) and followed up for 6 months. The primary outcome was skin- and needle-cleaning behavioral skills measured by videotaped demonstration.

"From the prison door right to the sidewalk, everything went downhill," a qualitative study of the health experiences of recently released inmates.

In many states, budget constraints are prompting earlier release of prison inmates. Prior studies have demonstrated elevated mortality rates in the post-release period but little is known about the health experiences of former inmates in the transition from prison to the community. The objective of this study was to understand the health-seeking experiences, perceptions of risk, and medical and mental health needs of former prisoners in the first two months after release from prison.

HIV risk after release from prison: a qualitative study of former inmates.

Background: Former prison inmates are at risk for HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) infection. This study was designed to understand how former inmates perceived their risk for HIV and HCV infection after release from prison, the behaviors and environmental factors that put patients at risk for new infection, and the barriers to accessing health care.

Methods: This was a qualitative study using individual, face-to-face, semistructured interviews exploring participants' perceptions and behaviors putting them at risk for HIV and HCV infection and barriers to engaging in regular medical care after release.

Case management outcomes for women who use crack.

Women who use crack are at risk for HIV in addition to problems surrounding their drug use. In this study, 149 crack using women participated in a case management intervention. The sample was predominantly African-American and Hispanic and averaged 42 years old.

HIV sex risk behaviors among heterosexual methamphetamine users: literature review from 2000 to present.

Methamphetamine (MA) use is a burgeoning problem worldwide and throughout the United States. Researchers have begun to examine risk behaviors among subgroups of MA users in an attempt to discover strategies to assist MA users in reducing their drug use and preventing transmission of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C. Sex risk behaviors have been traditionally difficult to examine and to change through intervention.

Predictors of methamphetamine injection in out-of-treatment IDUs.

From 2004-2006, 439 injection drug users were recruited in Denver, Colorado, to participate in a study of drug use and HCV risk. Over two-thirds were male, more than half were white, and 28% were methamphetamine injectors. The Risk Behavior Assessment, which assesses demographics, drug use, and HIV risk behaviors, was used.

The effect of methadone maintenance on positive outcomes for opiate injection drug users.

This study examined outcome variables for 160 opiate injection drug users (IDUs) who entered methadone maintenance between baseline and 6-month follow-up. Outcome variables of interest included drug use, productivity, and HIV risk behaviors. Participants were recruited through street outreach in Denver, CO, from 2000 through 2004 using targeted sampling.