Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Injecting Drug User Indicator 5
Injecting drug users sharing
in high equipment sharing
situations
Definition
Numerator :
Number of respondents who
report sharing in any high
equipment sharing situation at
least once in the last month.
Denominator : Total number of respondents
surveyed.
Measurement tools
Injecting drug user questionnaire
Q303
What it measures
This indicator tracks trends in the very
highest level of injecting risk behavior - injecting
in situations such as shooting galleries, though
professional injectors and dealers, or in prison.
These are situations where equipment is
commonly shared with a very high number
of other people. Since cleaning between users
is often inadequate, this means that HIV can
spread very rapidly through large networks
of drug injectors.
Strengths and limitations
This indicator will be very strongly influenced
by the sampling frame for a survey. Sampling
frames which include shooting galleries,
dealer’s territories and prisons will by definition
register a high percentage for this indicator.
And if the sampling frame remains roughly
comparable over time, this percentage is likely
to remain unchanged, even if a decreasing
proportion of the overall drug using population
attends these sites.
If a sampling frame can be constructed
which better reflects the totality of the drug
injecting population (rather than a preponderance
of those gathering at sites of highest risk),
then a fall in this indicator over time should
more accurately reflect a shift away from
injection of highest risk.
How to measure it
Injecting drug users are asked directly
whether they have injected in a variety of
different situations in the last month. Those
who report injecting in a situation of particularly
high risk at least once are included in the
numerator for this indicator. The denominator
includes everyone.
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C H A PTER 9 B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E S U R V EY S