Control over drug acquisition, preparation and injection: Implications for HIV and HCV risk among young female injection drug users.

Young female injection drug users (IDUs) are at risk for HIV/HCV, and initiating the use of a new drug may confer additional and unexpected risks. While gender differences in the social context of injection drug use have been identified, it is unknown whether those differences persist during the initiation of a new drug. This mixed methods study examined the accounts of 30 young female IDUs in Los Angeles, California from 2004-2006, who described the social context of initiating injection drug use and initiating ketamine injection.