NCJ Number
177963
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1999 Pages: 53-62
Date Published
1999
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Because injecting drug use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia has recently generated considerable concern and there is almost no research on illicit drug use by indigenous people, a questionnaire was administered by peer interviewers to 77 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had injected an illegal drug during the past 12 months and who lived in the Brisbane metropolitan area.
Abstract
The sample of 77 people included 53 males and 24 females between 13 and 44 years of age. The questionnaire used in peer interviews focused on topics of interest to indigenous drug users. Data showed that speed was the most commonly injected drug, although 56 percent had tried heroin, and heroin was the last drug injected by 33 percent of respondents. Sharing injecting equipment was common in the sample, with 39 percent reporting they had shared a needle during the past month. Among participants under 20 years of age, that figure rose to 63 percent. Youth and inexperience were also associated with unsafe needle disposal and having never personally obtained injecting equipment from a chemist or a needle exchange. Widespread ignorance about safe procedures for cleaning needles was noted. Knowledge about HIV/AIDS was not universal, and less than 25 percent personally knew someone living with HIV/AIDS. About 67 percent ranked their own chances of becoming infected with HIV as very low or low. Results are discussed in relation to the development of local harm reduction programs and strategies. 17 references, 5 notes, and 3 tables