EVALUATION OF A BRIEF INTERVENTION TO PREVENT INITIATION INTO INJECTING

Background: strategies to prevent initiation of non-injectors into inj ecting are rare. A brief intervention with this aim, offered to curren t injecting drug users (IDUs), has been evaluated. Methods: baseline b ehavioural and attitudinal data were collected using structured interv iews with 86 IDUs. Participants were re-interviewed immediately after the intervention and at 3-month follow-tip (n = 73). Results: it was f easible to deliver the intervention, which was acceptable to both drug users and drug workers. IDUs' disapproval of initiating non-injectors significantly: increased after the intervention. Participants injecte d in front of fewer non-injectors in the subsequent 3 months (falling from 97 to 49). Requests for initiation fell from 36 to 15 and the num ber of people initiated dropped from 6 to 2. Conclusions: these result s, the cheapness and ease with which such an intervention can be deliv ered, suggest that by incorporating such interventions into drug work it may be possible to reduce the number of people who begin injecting. Areas for further research are suggested.