Category Archives: People who use drugs
Does being drunk or high cause HIV sexual risk behavior? A systematic review of drug administration studies
HIV sexual risk behavior is broadly associated with substance use. Yet critical questions remain regarding the potential causal link between substance use (e.g., intoxication) and HIV sexual risk behavior. The...
A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychosocial interventions to reduce drug and sexual blood borne virus risk behaviours among people who inject drugs
Opiate substitution treatment and needle exchanges have reduced blood borne virus (BBV) transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID). Psychosocial interventions could further prevent BBV. A systematic review and meta-analysis...
Integrated opioid substitution therapy and HIV care: A qualitative systematic review and synthesis of client and provider experiences
People who use drugs in many contexts have limited access to opioid substitution therapy and HIV care. Service integration is one strategy identified to support increased access. We reviewed and...
Opening up the HIV epidemic: A review of HIV seropositive status disclosure among people who inject drugs
HIV status disclosure plays a crucial role in reducing risk behaviors of drug and sexual partners and thereby limiting HIV transmission. As people who inject drugs (PWID) bear a significant...
Effectiveness of pharmacy-based needle/syringe exchange programme for people who inject drugs: A systematic review and meta-analysis
AIMS: To appraise the evidence critically for effectiveness of pharmacy-based needle/syringe exchange programmes (pharmacy-based NSPs) on risk behaviours (RBs), HIV/HCV prevalence and economic outcomes among people who inject drugs (PWID)....
Spontaneous viral clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) and HIV-positive men who have sex with men (HIV+ MSM): A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes significant morbidity and mortality among people who inject drugs (PWID) and HIV+ men who have sex with men (MSM). Characterizing spontaneous viral clearance...
The perfect storm: incarceration and the high-risk environment perpetuating transmission of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Despite global reductions in HIV incidence and mortality, the 15 UNAIDS-designated countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 constitute the...
Impact of opioid substitution therapy on antiretroviral therapy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) frequently encounter barriers accessing and remaining on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Some studies have suggested that opioid substitution therapy (OST) could...