Characteristics of injected drug users and some factors related to the behavior of sharing needles and syringes in Thai Nguyen in 2019

Abstract

People who inject drugs are a population at high risk of HIV infection, especially those who share needles. This study was conducted to describe the characteristics of injecting drug users and some factors related to needle sharing in Thai Nguyen in 2019. A crosssectional, retrospective descriptive study using available data on 318 TCMT in Thai Nguyen city, Thai Nguyen province from April 2019 to June 2020. Research results show that the percentage of participants is mainly male (99.7%), mainly in the age group of 35 - 49 years old, most of the subjects had a cultural level from junior high school or higher. The most commonly used drug is heroin (96.2%), 310 TCMT have used drugs for more than 3 years. The percentage of injecting drug users who have ever shared needles in Thai Nguyen is quite high (43.4%). Factors such as marital status, HIV testing, antiretroviral therapy, and receipt of clean condoms are related to the behavior of sharing condoms. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the provision and access to health care services for TCMT in particular and high-risk groups in general.