Condom use with primary partners among injecting drug users in Bangkok, Thailand and New York City, United States.

ABSTRACT

PIP: Trained interviewers spoke to 957 drug users attending a detoxification program, methadone maintenance program, or a research storefront in New York City in 1990-91 and to 601 drug users attending 17 drug use treatment clinics in Bangkok, Thailand, in the autumn of 1989 as part of a study to identify factors linked to the probability or failure of condom use with primary sexual partners among IV drug users. The participants also received HIV counseling and testing. IV drug users in New York City were more likely to be older (36.2 years vs. 30.1 years; p .001), female (25% vs. 5%; p .001), more ethnically diverse (p .001), and inject cocaine more often (33 injections/month vs. 0.5 injections/month) than those in Bangkok. 44% of drug users in New York City and 33% of those in Bangkok engaged in some unprotected penetrative intercourse with a primary heterosexual partner in the previous 6 months. Of drug users having penetrative sexual intercourse with a primary partner in the previous 6 months, 20% in New York City and 12% in Bangkok always used condoms (p .02). The strongest predictors of condom use among IV drug users from both countries were a previous positive HIV test and talking about AIDS with sexual partners (p = .001 for US; p = .0008 for Bangkok and p = .004 for US; p = .0596 for Bangkok, respectively). These findings indicated that unsafe sexual behavior with primary sexual partners among drug users is still a major source of HIV transmission in these 2 cities. Nevertheless, knowledge of HIV positive status and partner communication concerning AIDS are predictors of condom use shared by both groups. Thus, HIV/AIDS prevention programs should provide confidential HIV testing and counseling for drug users and should encourage frank discussions of AIDS between drug users and primary sexual partners. Peer support for risk reduction among drug users has the potential to facilitate such discussions.