Past-Year HIV Testing, Current Antiretroviral Therapy Use, and Participation in Services for People Who Inject Drugs

Authors

Itunu Sokale
Johnny Wilkerson
Paige Wermuth
Folefac Atem
Janet Burnett
Cyprian Wejnert
Salma Khuwaja
Catherine Troisi

Publication Date

8-1-2024

Journal

AIDS and Behavior

Abstract

Evaluating routine HIV testing and treatment and use of services for people who inject drugs (PWID) is critical to curb the ongoing HIV epidemic. We analyzed data from the 2018 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance of PWID aged 18 years or older, recruited using respondent-driven sampling and offered anonymous HIV testing after survey. We performed bivariate and multivariable analyses with log-linked Poisson regression of the generalized linear models to examine the associations between demographics and PWID service use, past-year HIV testing, and current antiretroviral therapy (ART) use. Among 10,311 HIV-negative PWID, 56% reported past-year HIV testing, and of the 553 HIV-positive PWID, 69% reported current ART use. Of the HIV-negative PWID, 64% (2874/4482) in drug treatment and 62% (3386/5440) who used syringe service programs (SSPs) reported past-year HIV testing. Among HIV-positive PWID, 75% (187/248) in drug treatment and 67% (200/298) SSP participants were on ART. In the adjusted multivariable model, past-year HIV testing was associated with drug use treatment (aPR 1.26, 95% CI 1.23-1.31) and SSP participation (aPR 1.19, 95% CI 1.13-1.26) among HIV-negative PWID. Current ART use was associated with drug use treatment (aPR 1.13, 95% CI 1.00-1.28) but the link was not significant probably due to small sample size. Findings support the expansion and improvement of PWID-targeted services, into comprehensive programs, including drug use treatment, SSP, and HIV testing and treatment.

Keywords

Humans, Substance Abuse, Intravenous, Male, Female, Adult, HIV Infections, HIV Testing, Middle Aged, Young Adult, Needle-Exchange Programs, Adolescent, United States, Cross-Sectional Studies, Anti-Retroviral Agents, people who inject drugs, injection drug use, HIV testing, antiretroviral therapy, drug use treatment, syringe service program

DOI

10.1007/s10461-024-04369-0

PMID

38822083

PMCID

PMC11492141

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

10-21-2024

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes