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Learning Objective:
By the end of the presentation participants will be able to:
1.Understand pharmacological drug treatment with buprenorphine as a means to bring into care active IDUs.
2.Understand pharmacological drug treatment as a way to encourage testing of viral infections such as HIV, HBV, and HCV.
3.Consider accelerated hepatitis B vaccination
Background:
Injection drug users (IDUs) are at high risk for bloodborne infections such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Despite this risk, IDUs often do not receive preventive vaccination for hepatitis B.
Setting:
New York has historically had the largest number of heroin addicts in the U.S. Injection drug use drives the AIDS epidemic in New York City. A substantial majority of inmates have drug problems. In October 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the medication of buprenorphine for the treatment of opiate dependence in primary care settings. Buprenorphine is a medication similar to methadone for treatment of heroin addiction and opiate prescription drug abuse. However, buprenorphine has a lower abuse potential, lower level of physical dependence, a ceiling effect at higher doses, and a greater safety in overdose compared with methadone.
Population e.g. API Youth, MSM, IDU:
IDU
Project Description:
Positive Health Project, Inc. (PHP), an AIDS prevention organization with more than a decade of experience serving high-risk populations in New York City, is working to implement a ground-breaking initiative in prevention case management that integrates buprenorphine treatment to reduce the transfer of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. The Buprenorphine Easy-Access to Treatment (BEAT) Program will be a pioneering HIV/HCV prevention model that co-locates buprenorphine treatment for four major diagnoses of public health importance: substance abuse, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis C.
Results/Lessons Learned:
This is a description of a program that is scheduled to launch later this year which will incorporate a risk reduction model with aggressive preventative health care.
See more of Poster Session #2
See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference