HIV risk behaviors of gay and bisexual male methamphetamine users contacted through street outreach

This paper describes the characteristics of 908 gay and bisexual male drug users contacted over a 12-month period through a street outreach HIV risk-r eduction program in Hollywood, California. Over one-third (37 percent) of t he contacted individuals reported using methamphetamine in the previous 30 days; over half of these (58 percent) reported injection drug use. Compared with the non-methamphetamine users, the methamphetamine users were more li kely to be white, to engage in sex work, to inject drugs, and to have sex p artners who injected drugs. The methamphetamine users were also less likely to have used condoms when engaged in high-risk sexual behavior and were mo re likely to have used other drugs within the previous 30 days than the non -users. Methamphetamine use among gay and bisexual males compounds risk for HIV, and risk-reduction interventions to this population should address bo th high-risk drug and sexual behaviors within the broader context of gay ma le communities.