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- Title
Non-medical use of prescription drugs and HIV risk behaviour in transgender women in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
- Authors
Benotsch, Eric G.; Zimmerman, Rick S.; Cathers, Laurie; Pierce, Juan; McNulty, Shawn; Heck, Ted; Perrin, Paul B.; Snipes, Daniel J.
- Abstract
Male-to-female transgender women (TGW) experience high rates of substance use and HIV. A recent substance use trend is the use of prescription medication without a doctor's consent. No research to date has examined the associations between this non-medical use of prescription drugs and HIV risk behaviour in TGW. In the present study, TGW recruited from community venues (N = 104) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States completed surveys assessing demographic information, non-medical use of prescription drugs, other substance use, injection practices and sexual risk behaviour. Twenty-four per cent of the sample reported lifetime non-medical use of prescription drugs across the following categories: analgesics (21.2%), anxiolytics (14.4%), stimulants (12.5%) and sedatives (8.7%). Participants reporting non-medical use of prescription drugs were more likely to report other substance use, needle use to inject drugs, injecting silicone and sharing needles. In multivariable analyses, non-medical use of prescription drugs was associated with unprotected sex, sex after engaging in substance use, and commercial sex work, after controlling for demographic factors. Self-esteem and social support from family served as protective factors for non-medical use of prescription drugs. HIV-prevention programmes focused on TGW in the United States may wish to expand their assessment of substance use to include the use of prescription medications without a physician's consent.
- Subjects
UNITED States; ATLANTIC Coast (Middle Atlantic States); MIDDLE Atlantic States; HIV infection risk factors; DRUG utilization; DRUG prescribing; PUBLIC health; AMERICAN transgender people; WOMEN'S health; HIV infection epidemiology; HIV infections &; psychology; HIV prevention; RISK-taking behavior; NEEDLE sharing; SUBSTANCE abuse; SOCIAL support; CROSS-sectional method; SELF-perception; DRUG therapy; UNSAFE sex
- Publication
International Journal of STD & AIDS, 2016, Vol 27, Issue 9, p776
- ISSN
0956-4624
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1177/0956462415595319