This project proposes a method to stop the spread of AIDS among IV drug users in San Francisco. Building on current ethnographic research the project will include a health education campaign followed by an aggressive on-the-street monitoring effort. We propose a three-step research/intervention plan: 1) an extensive ethnographic observation and analysis of needle-using practices in two areas of San Francisco with the highest concentration of IV drug users; 2) A multi-faceted AIDS education and community health outreach program; and 3) an evaluation of these efforts in a series of pre and post intervention measures. The project's goals are to stem the spread of the AIDS epidemic among IV drug users in San Francisco and to create an intervention model that may be used in other urban areas.
