S13.4 Use of respondent-driven sampling for monitoring HIV behaviours among injecting drug users in the United States

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has been shown to be an effective method of HIV prevention for men who have sex with-men (MSM) and -transgender women (MSTGWs), serodiscordant couples, and injection drug users; however fewer than 50 000 individuals currently take this regimen. Knowledge of PrEP is low among healthcare providers and much of this lack of knowledge stems from the lack or exposure to PrEP in medical school. We conducted a cross sectional survey of medical schools in the United States to assess the degree to which PrEP for HIV prevention is taught. The survey consisted Likert scale questions assessing how well the students were prepared to perform each skill associated with PrEP delivery, as well as how PrEP education was delivered to students. We contacted 141 medical schools and 71 responded to the survey (50.4%). PrEP education was only reported to be offered at 38% of schools, and only 15.4% reported specific training for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) patients. The most common delivery methods of PrEP content were didactic sessions with 11 schools reporting this method followed by problem-based learning, direct patient contact, workshops, and small group discussions. Students were more prepared to provide PrEP to MSM compared to other high-risk patients. Few medical schools are preparing their students to prescribe PrEP upon graduation. Further, there is a need to increase the number of direct patient contacts or simulations for students to be better prepared.

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Respondent driven sampling and community structure in a population of injecting drug users, Bristol, UK

Drug and Alcohol Dependence ◽

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.05.036 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 126 (3) ◽

pp. 324-332 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

H.L. Mills ◽

C. Colijn ◽

P. Vickerman ◽

D. Leslie ◽

V. Hope ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Drug Users ◽

Injecting Drug Users ◽

Respondent Driven Sampling

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Viral Hepatitis A

10.2310/em.14068 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kenrad E Nelson ◽

Brittany L Kmush

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Acute Hepatitis ◽

Injection Drug Users ◽

Drug Users ◽

Hepatitis A ◽

Hepatitis A Virus ◽

Severe Disease ◽

The United States ◽

Childhood Immunization ◽

Effective Prevention

Epidemics of infectious jaundice have been reported throughout recorded history. However, the proof that many of these outbreaks and individual cases of acute hepatitis were caused by a viral infection, the hepatitis A virus (HAV), did not appear until the 1960s. After the transmission of infection to marmosets and humans, the epidemiologic and virologic characteristics that differed between hepatitis A and hepatitis B virus infections were defined more clearly. After the development and licensure of hepatitis A vaccines in the 1990s, it became possible to implement an effective prevention program involving routine immunization of young children in the United States and several other Western countries. However, despite the dramatic efficacy of the childhood immunization program in reducing the incidence of acute hepatitis from HAV in the population, older children and adults remained susceptible. Significant morbidity continues to occur in the United States among international travelers, injection drug users, persons with underlying liver disease, and other high-risk populations. Since HAV is a global pathogen, the prevention of increasing morbidity from hepatitis A attributable to the incidence of clinically more severe disease increases in countries transitioning from high to intermediate or low endemic status is a major public health challenge. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, virology, clinical characteristics, and prevention of hepatitis A infections. This review contains 8 figures, 3 tables and 89 references Key words: epidemiology, global impact, hepatitis A vaccine, hepatitis A virus, prevention, reservoirs, risk factors, treatment

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Knowledge about Drug Abuse in an American Small Town

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1973.32.2.571 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 571-574 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael R. McKee

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Drug Users ◽

Formal Education ◽

The United States ◽

Health Clinic ◽

Mental Health Clinic ◽

School Students

In a small (pop. 25,000) Eastern community in the United States, “counselors” (teachers, parents, police, mental health clinic workers, and ministers) and high school students were interviewed and tested to ascertain knowledge regarding drugs. Data suggest that less is known about certain categories of drugs than others; drug users are more knowledgeable about drugs than non-users; police scored consistently lower than other “counselors” and students; and those with higher levels of formal education scored higher. Particular problems and areas of ignorance among the (usually non-drug using) adults who give counsel require identification to aid in establishing more realistic, efficient, and effective organizing, staffing, and operating of programs.

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