Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Injecting Drug User
Indicator 10
Drug injectors using condoms
at last sex with a regular
partner
Definition
Numerator :
Number of respondents
who report using a condom
at last sex with a spousal or
cohabiting partner.
Denominator : Number of respondents who
report at least one regular
partner in the last 12 months.
Measurement tools
Injecting drug user questionnaire
Q603
What it measures
This is similar to Injecting Drug User
Indicator 9, except that it focuses only on
spousal or cohabiting partners. Condom use
with these partners may be lower than with
other types of partners. If these partners do
not inject drugs themselves, they may be put
at risk by their sex partner’s drug injecting
behavior.
How to measure it
In a survey of injecting drug users,
respondents are asked about sex with spousal
or cohabiting partner in the last 12 months,
and whether they used a condom the last time
they had sex with a regular partner. The indicator
is the number reporting that they used a condom
the last time they had sex with a regular partner,
divided by all those who have had sex with a
regular partner in the last 12 months.
Strengths and limitations
This indicator suffers from the same
limitations as Injecting Drug User Indicator 9.
In addition, since the living situation of drug
injectors is often very unstable, It may be
difficult clearly to define “co-habiting”.
This indicator is, however, especially worth
measuring in populations where the bulk of
drug injectors are males, since unprotected sex
between injecting drug users and their wives
may provide a major conduit of HIV infection
into the female population that would not
otherwise be at risk.
B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E SURV EY S CHAPTER 9
155