*Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA; †Center for Global Health and Development, Boston University, Boston, MA; ‡School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; §Ghana Health Service, Kumasi, Ghana; and ‖USAID/Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2015 Mar 1;68 Suppl 2:S124-30. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000000445.
Recent evidence suggests that injecting drug use presents a new challenge to HIV prevention in West Africa. Very little is known about the HIV vulnerability of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Ghana, and no HIV prevention efforts are currently targeting PWID.
Purposive sampling was used to recruit 30 (20 men and 10 women) PWID to participate in in-depth interviews in Kumasi, Ghana. Transcripts were coded and analyzed by theme.
Half the men and more than half the women in this study reported sharing needles/syringes (N/S); most shared a common mixing container; and all said they shared N/S with intimate partners. Some PWID who said that they do not share N/S with other PWID, also said they routinely use N/S that they find on the ground at injecting sites or in the hospital dumpster. Nearly, all the women (9/10) and more than half the men (12/20) were currently sexually active; most had more than 1 partner in the last 6 months, but very few reported condom use. Three women said they exchanged sex for money and 3 men reported buying sex in the last year. Several PWID had no knowledge of HIV transmission through injecting.
PWID in Kumasi are highly vulnerable to HIV because of N/S sharing and reuse, lack of condom use, low knowledge of HIV transmission, and lack of services. Program and policy recommendations include N/S and condom distribution, peer education, opioid substitution therapy, and training of health providers, police, and pharmacy staff.
最近的证据表明，在西非，注射毒品的行为给艾滋病毒的预防带来了新的挑战。人们对加纳注射吸毒者（PWID）的艾滋病毒易感性知之甚少，目前也没有任何艾滋病毒预防工作针对 PWID。
采用目的性抽样方法招募了 30 名（20 名男性和 10 名女性）在加纳库马西的 PWID 参加深入访谈。通过主题对转录本进行编码和分析。
本研究中一半的男性和超过一半的女性报告说共用针头/注射器（N/S）；大多数人共用一个共同的混合容器；并且所有人都说他们与亲密伴侣共用 N/S。一些声称不与其他 PWID 共用 N/S 的 PWID 也表示，他们经常使用在注射场所或医院垃圾桶中发现的 N/S。几乎所有女性（9/10）和超过一半男性（12/20）目前都有性行为；大多数人在过去 6 个月内有 1 个以上的伴侣，但很少有人报告使用安全套。有 3 名女性表示她们用性换取金钱，有 3 名男性报告在过去一年中购买过性服务。一些 PWID 对通过注射传播 HIV 一无所知。
库马西的 PWID 由于共用和重复使用 N/S、缺乏使用安全套、对 HIV 传播知识的缺乏以及缺乏服务，因此非常容易感染 HIV。计划和政策建议包括 N/S 和安全套的分发、同伴教育、阿片类物质替代疗法以及对卫生保健提供者、警察和药房工作人员的培训。
