Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Indicators for injecting drug users
Injecting Drug User Indicator 1
Knowledge of HIV prevention
Definition
Numerator :
Number of respondents who
correctly identify switching
to non-injecting drugs and
avoiding sharing injecting
equipment as methods of
preventing HIV transmission,
in response to prompted
questions.
Denominator : Total number of respondents
surveyed.
Measurement tools
Injecting drug user
questionnaire
Q1108, Q1109
What it measures
In HIV epidemics where there is a
concentration of HIV infection or risk behaviors
among injecting drug users, some programs
actively promote HIV prevention in this
population. Most efforts to reduce transmission
between drug injectors try to encourage safer
drug-taking, including using non-injecting
drugs and not sharing injecting equipment.
This indicator measures the extent to which
drug injectors are aware of these methods of
preventing HIV transmission.
How to measure it
In a behavioral survey in a community of
drug injectors, respondents are asked about
their knowledge of AIDS, and whether it can
be prevented. They are then prompted for
various correct and incorrect means of
prevention, including switching to noninjection
drugs and avoiding sharing injecting
equipment. The indicator is derived from
correct answers given for both prevention
methods. Someone giving correct answers on
only one way is not counted in the numerator
of the indicator. All respondents are included
in the denominator, regardless of whether
they have ever heard of AIDS or not.
Results for each component of the indicator
should also be reported.
Strengths and limitations
This indicator will be most useful where
efforts are being made to reach injecting drug
users with prevention messages that help them
reduce exposure to HIV infection, both for
themselves and for other members of the
drug-taking community. Where such programs
exist but concentrate only on a single message
backed up by appropriate services, it may be
possible to restrict the indicator to knowledge
about that means of prevention. Obviously it
will be difficult to use these data if programs
are not openly informing the drug using
public about using clean needles and safer
methods to use drugs.
B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E SURV EY S CHAPTER 9
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