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Director's Column
Volume 12, Number 2
March/April 1997 |
NIDA Responds to the Changing Dynamics of
the AIDS Epidemic
NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner
Drug abuse and the spread ofHIV/AIDS, as well as other infectious diseases
such as hepatitis and tuberculosis, are inextricably linked public health
problems that require many and multifaceted solutions.
A majority of new HIV infections in this Nation are related to drug abuse-through
sharing of contaminated drug injection paraphernalia, through sexual contact
with an injection drug user, or through the transmission of HIV perinatally.
(See "CDC Report Highlights Link Between
Drug Abuse and Spread of HIV,"). NIDA has expanded its research
efforts in this area to meet this challenge. The Institute has also set
policies to ensure that all participants in NIDA-supported AIDS research
are offered HIV testing and counseling.
NIDA-funded research has found that, through drug abuse treatment, prevention,
and community-based outreach programs, drug abusers can change their behaviors.
They can reduce or eliminate drug use, drug-related HIV risk behaviors such
as needle sharing, unsafe sex practices, and, in turn, the risk of HIV/AIDS.
NIDA research also is working to reduce HIV and other AIDS-related illnesses
and improve overall survival rates for HIV-infected drug abusers by increasing
their access and adherence to medical treatment. With a comprehensive research
portfolio that is responsive to the changing dynamics of the AIDS epidemic,
NIDA is improving the quality of life for many, as well as saving both lives
and enormous costs to society.
Drug abuse treatment, prevention, and
community-based outreach programs
can change behaviors to
decrease the risk of HIV/AIDS.
NIDA-funded research has clearly shown that drug abuse treat-ment is
highly effective in preventing the spread of HIV. Numerous studies have
shown that individuals who enter drug abuse treatment programs reduce their
drug use, which, in turn, leads to fewer instances of HIV high-risk behaviors.
NIDA's research into this field began early in the AIDS epidemic. One
of the Institute's first investigations of drug use patterns among injection
drug users (IDUs)-conducted in methadone treatment programs in New York
City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore-found that not only did participants report
reduced sharing of needles, but also, 70 percent reported that they no longer
injected drugs daily.
In addition to reducing injection drug use, individuals in drug abuse
treatment programs have been found to have significantly lower HIV infection
rates than drug abusers not in treatment. Researchers in Philadelphia compared
HIV infection rates among drug abusers enrolled in methadone treatment programs
to rates among those not in treatment. During the first 18 months of the
study, those who remained out of treatment were nearly seven times more
likely to have become infected with the AIDS virus than those in treatment.
The investigators also found that the longer drug abusers remained in treatment,
the less likely they were to become infected.
In aggregate, studies that look at abuse of drugs other than heroin and
other injection drugs also are showing that drug abuse treatment lowers
rates of HIV risk behaviors and infection. The bottom line is that providing
access to effective drug abuse treatment programs is a proven way to prevent
the spread of HIV/AIDS.
This is encouraging news. The discouraging news, of course, is that only
a small percentage of those who need drug abuse treat-ment receive it. In
fact, about 85 percent of chronic drug abusers are not in drug abuse treatment
at any given time.
To reach that 85 percent, NIDA launched research to develop community-based
outreach interventions to reduce the spread of HIV. The National AIDS Demonstration
Research (NADR) Program was the first multisite research program to deliver
and evaluate HIV risk reduction outreach programs to drug abusers not in
treatment. As part of the interventions, outreach staff indigenous to the
selected communities met with IDUs in their natural settings to distribute
HIV risk reduction information and offer additional counseling and HIV testing.
The outreach workers acted as credible messengers, provided risk reduction
materials and education, and arranged for IDUs to receive free, private
HIV testing and counseling. The ongoing Cooperative Agreement for AIDS Community-Based
Outreach/Intervention Research Program uses similar behavioral interventions
to reduce HIV risk taking and increase protective behaviors.
These programs and other NIDA-funded research have helped identify intervention
models that enable IDUs to reduce their drug use, needle-sharing practices,
unsafe sex behaviors, and, importantly, their HIV infection rates.
For example, a 4-year study at one of the first NADR projects in Chicago
used ex-addicts to deliver HIV prevention services such as HIV testing and
counseling. IDUs who were exposed to the intervention showed a significant
decrease in the rate of new HIV infections. This is just one illustration
of how outreach can help IDUs not in treatment change their HIV risk behaviors.
While we continue to fund research on interventions that change behaviors
and prevent HIV transmission, we are also studying how to link HIV-infected
drug abusers to the medical care they need for their HIV and related illnesses.
Other NIDA-funded research is examining ways to increase drug abusers' compliance
with medical treatment. Long-term studies are examining the influence of
drug use on the progression of HIV and on the effectiveness of medical treatment.
We are also funding research that is examining the special needs of HIV-infected
women who are drug abusers. Unfortunately, with AIDS now being the fourth
leading cause of death among women 15 to 44, the need is greater than ever
to address the multitude of issues concerning this population. Among other
things, NIDA-funded research is investigating the impact of drug use on
maternal-infant HIV transmission, the course of the disease in drug-abusing
women and their infants, and treatment with HIV medications to reduce transmission.
Given the public health implications of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse, NIDA
must work to disseminate its research findings to the public health community
at large. NIDA is teaming with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
to reach their network of public health professionals in order to inform
them what NIDA's research is showing about the inextricable link between
these two diseases.Despite substantial progress in HIV/AIDS prevention with
drug abusers, unacceptably high numbers of new HIV infections are occurring
in drug abusers, their sex partners, and their children. Many drug abusers
still are engaging in high risk practices. To curtail or reverse this trend,
NIDA will continue to build a comprehensive research portfolio that will
respond to the changing dynamics of the AIDS epidemic. Equipped with the
knowledge that drug abuse treatment, prevention, and community-based outreach
programs can change behaviors to decrease the risk of HIV/AIDS, NIDA is
in a position to develop the most innovative and effective programs possible
through its research.
From NIDA NOTES, March/April 1997 [NIDA
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