Acculturation and risky injection practices among Hispanic injectors

Ethnic and gender-based correlates of safer needle use among 528 out-of-tre atment drug injectors in San Antonio, Texas. were studied. The sample was 6 7% male, 75% Hispanic, 11% non-Hispanic white, and 14% African-American. Fo rty-seven percent of Hispanics were classified as high-acculturation, and 5 3% were classified as low acculturation. HIV seroprevalence was 1.7%. Safer needle use was defined as never sharing syringes that had not been disinfe cted with bleach. Variables associated with safer needle use in bivariate a nalyses were entered into a multiple logistic regression analysis. Independ ent predictors of safer needle use included being African-American, a high- accultura tion Hispanic, and female. Greater perceived AIDS risk; frequent cocaine injection; and sharing cookers, cottons, and water were all negativ ely associated with safer needle use. Among men, low-acculturation Hispanic s were significantly more risky than the other groups, but there was no ass ociation between ethnicity and safer needle use among women. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.