Project Description
Partner-Oriented Drug Treatment and HIV Risk Reduction
PIs: Martin Iguchi, Ricky Bluthenthal
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Methadone maintenance is an effective tool for reducing HIV risk and incidence among injection drug users. All too often, however, individuals in methadone treatment continue to use opiates and other drugs, usually with a close friend or family member who is not currently enrolled in treatment. One response to this problem is to encourage at least one member of the methadone client's personal drug-using network to also enter treatment, thereby reducing the number of individuals offering drug-use opportunities. This study aims to determine whether treatment outcomes can be improved and HIV risk behaviors reduced by involving at least two network members in drug treatment simultaneously. The study will interview 268 new methadone treatment entrants, each of whom will be encouraged to recruit a drug-using partner for an interview. Half of the drug-using partners will be selected at random and offered 13 weeks of free methadone maintenance; the other half will not be offered subsidized treatment. Self-reports, clinic retention, urinalysis records, and other data will be collected from study participants at baseline and 4 months later to assess treatment outcomes, change in HIV risk behaviors, and change in personal drug-using network characteristics for both the initial methadone clients and their partner referrals.
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