ESTIMATION OF THE PREVALENCE OF INJECTION-DRUG USE IN GREATER BOSTON IN 1993

This article is a report on different methods of estimation of the num ber of injection drug users (IDUs) in the Boston standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) in 1993. Because the sharing of needles is a means of transmission for HIV, an estimate of the prevalence of inject ion drug use is essential for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS ) prevention programs. The data for this study come from the Massachus etts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Abuse, the Massac husetts AIDS Surveillance Unit, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 199 3, and the Massachusetts State Police Crime Reporting Unit. The estima tes in this study can be assessed with regard to the different time fr ames that are involved, noting that some estimates are useful only to establish upper or lower bounds. The estimate that best meshes with th e findings of this report is that there were between 13,500-16,500 inj ection drug users in greater Boston and 45,000-60,000 IDUs in Massachu setts in 1993.