The attendance pattern of clients at a Scottish needle exchange.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To examine the pattern of attendance at a Scottish needle exchange. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews and retrospective analysis of attendance patterns. SETTING: A needle exchange in a Scottish city which covers the whole of the city. PARTICIPANTS: Clients and staff of the needle exchange. MEASUREMENTS The attendance pattern of 1556 clients of the needle exchange over a 4-year period 1995-1998. FINDINGS: The average frequency of attendance over the 4-year period was 12.7. In 1998, 23% had only visited the needle exchange once and 11% had only visited twice. CONCLUSIONS: A significant minority of clients only attend the needle exchange once or twice a year. There is a need to include information on client retention in future evaluations of needle and syringe exchange clinics and to specify the kind of relationships needle and syringe exchange clinic staff are expected to develop with clients and what level of client retention they should be aiming towards in a well-run clinic.