Intravenous drug users are the second largest group of persons infected with HIV. By virtue of their high rates of infection, continued sharing of drug use paraphernalia, and sexual relationships, IV drug users pose a severe threat to one another and to the population as a whole. This continuation study, which extends research supported under a two year NIDA award, focusses on ways of reducing relapse and the spread of AIDS among recovering drug users. Building on developmental research now in progress, this investigation will compare the efficacy of various means of slowing the spread of HIV among Black and Hispanic/Latino IV drug users and their associates. In a repeated measures, three condition design, the study will evaluate the processes, outcomes, and replicability of three forms of AIDS prevention groups: AIDS information, AIDS prevention skills, and AIDS/relapse prevention. The final phase of the project will assess the feasibility, transferability, and efficacy of a skills-building intervention, developed in the course of the field experiment, and disseminated in self-instructional packages designed for community methadone programs. Concurrent with these activities, the investigators will continue to follow subjects from the earlier study: methadone patients who participated in a survey of attitudes and behavior related to AIDS risks, and a second group of patients who participated in a pilot intervention. By testing these intervention methods and following descriptive and experimental samples from earlier research, the study will assess the extent to which skills-building interventions can effect changes in behavior and attitudes related to AIDS risks, and enhance understanding of how drug users appraise the AIDS crisis.
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