Use of needles and syringes in Miami and Valencia: Observations of high and low availability

Two studies engaged in gathering data on injecting drug users (IDUs) employ ed supplementary resources to Enhance their ethnographic components and com pare patterns of use of needles/syringes (n/s) in two geographically simila r but culturally distinct cities. Despite its policy of making n/s highly a vailable at fair prices, Valencia, Spain, has markedly higher rates of HIV seroprevalence among its IDUs than does Miami, Florida, where possession of n/s is illegal. Ethnographically based models that track IDUs through choi ces of injection venues help to explain this difference. Inability of IDUs in Valencia to use their own domiciles as venues for injection contrasts sh arply with problems of Miami IDUs, who have access to houses but have diffi culty finding n/s. This research suggests that intervention in Valencia nee ds to focus on how people select places where they inject, and intervention in Miami needs to focus on improving availability of n/s.