Prevalence and Correlates of Providing and Receiving Assistance With the Transition to Injection Drug Use.

ABSTRACT: Preventing the transition to injection drug use is an important public health goal, as people who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk for overdose and acquisition of infectious disease. Initiation into drug injection is primarily a social process, often involving PWID assistance. A better understanding of the epidemiology of this phenomenon would inform interventions to prevent injection initiation and to enhance safety when assistance is provided. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to 1) characterize the prevalence of receiving (among injection-naive persons) and providing (among PWID) help or guidance with the first drug injection and 2) identify correlates associated with these behaviors. Correlates were organized as substance use behaviors, health outcomes (e.g., human

SUBMITTER: Gicquelais RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7947591 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature