A brief intervention for hazardous drinkers in a needle exchange program

Tested the effectiveness of a brief motivational intervention (MI) for reducing the frequency of injection-related HIV risk behavior (IRRB) among hazardously-drinking injections drug users (IDUs). Ss who tested positive on AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) were recruited for the randomized clinical trial. HIV drug risk behavior was measured as the number of days on which Ss reported sharing works using the 30-day Timeline Followback Method. Overall, 109 Ss reported a mean reduction of IRRB days of 9.1 days from baseline to 6-month follow-up. When compared to controls, there was a trend in reduction of IRRB days to zero at follow-up for MI Ss, and strongly significant reductions in IRRB days across a range of alternative improvement thresholds. Results from this study demonstrated that MI reduces drug-related HIV risk behaviors among active IDUs. As a brief intervention, MI may be a useful adjunct to existing services intended to reduce harm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)