CHANGES IN HIV AIDS RISK BEHAVIORS IN DRUG-USERS IN ST-LOUIS - APPLICATIONS OF RANDOM REGRESSION-MODELS/

A National Institute on Drug Abuse demonstration project in AIDS preve ntion among drug users was conducted in St. Louis during the years 199 0 through 1994. The main objective was to reduce the spread of HIY by counseling drug users and by improving drug-treatment programs in the area. A second objective was to examine the correlates of risk behavio r. A structured interview was administered six times over an 18-month period Of those persons assessed at baseline (n=475), 95.0% (n=451) we re also reinterviewed in the last interview at 18 months. Both group a nd individual level changes in risk behavior were assessed using rando m regression models. We report on three potential risk behaviors for H IV/AIDS: (1) number of sexual partners, (2) frequency of condom use, a nd (3) injection drug use. For each risk behavior a separate statistic al model was estimated. The results of the random regression models sh owed significant reductions in number of sexual partners and injection drug use. Additionally a number of variables, such as perceived risk for AIDS and knowledge of HIV/AIDS, were statistically significantly c ovariates of risk behavior.