Psychosocial considerations for the prevention of HIV infection in injecting drug users

In this article, the authors discuss a study that investigated the meaning that injecting drug users attribute to risk behaviors linked to HIV transmi ssion, especially through the use of nonsterile syringes or the failure to use condoms. To do this, social discourses with respect to the prevention o f HIV infection are evaluated. The discussion focuses on how these discours es affect the daily practices of heroin users, practices that in turn influ ence discourses. Ethnography was used to observe 78 heroin users and 35 peo ple following a methadone treatment program. Observation was carried out in a central district of Barcelona, Spain, with a low socioeconomic level. Th e results are a useful starting point for generating strategies aimed at pr eventing HIV transmission among this population an personal, community, and sociostructural levels.