Comparing new participants of a mobile versus a pharmacy-based needle exchange program

Objective: To compare characteristics of first-time needle exchange partici pants who enrolled at a mobile van-based exchange site versus a fixed pharm acy-based exchange site, in an area where both types of needle exchange pro grams were available. Methods: Demographic and drug use data were collected on needle exchange pr ogram participants on enrollment. Participants were included if they were f irst-time participants at the Baltimore needle exchange program between Dec ember 1997 and March 1999, and if their first visit was at either one van-b ased site or at one of two pharmacy-based sites. Descriptive statistics and inferences were based on the type of needle exchange into which participan ts enrolled. Results: Among 286 first-time participants, 92% were African American, 28% were women, 11% were currently employed, 55% completed high school, and the median age was 40 years. In multivariate analyses, van-based enrollment wa s more common among frequent injectors (odds ratio [OP] = 2.0), but less co mmon among; African American participants (OR = 0.21). Conclusions: Our data suggest that different venues for needle exchange pro gram settings attract different types of drug injecting participants. This suggests that offering different venue types to reach participants with dif fering drug use patterns will be important to optimize risk reduction strat egies.