CAHSS Faculty Articles
Alternate Routes of Administration and Risk for HIV Among Prescription Opioid Abusers
ORCID ID
0000-0003-4027-7840, 0000-0002-4716-3398
ResearcherID
K-3072-2014, H-3010-2014
Publication Title
Journal of Addictive Diseases
ISSN
1055-0887
Publication Date
2011
Abstract
Route of administration is an important contributor to the adverse health consequences of prescription medication abuse. The current study examines characteristics associated with non-oral routes of administration among a large sample of prescription opioid abusers and explores needle-related human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors as well. In the study, 791 opioid abusers completed a one-time structured interview, including complete histories of illicit and prescription drug abuse and route of drug administration. The most common method of pill use was oral (91%), followed by intranasal (53.1%), injection (23.8%), and smoking (14.5%). The youngest prescription opioid abusers, ages 18-24, displayed significantly higher odds of using alternate routes of administration and of reusing nonsterile needles for injection. HIV prevention programming should be developed for young prescription opioid injectors.
DOI
10.1080/10550887.2011.609805
Volume
30
Issue
4
First Page
334
Last Page
341
NSUWorks Citation
Surratt, H. L., Kurtz, S. P., & Cicero, T. J. (2011). Alternate Routes of Administration and Risk for HIV Among Prescription Opioid Abusers. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 30 (4), 334-341. https://doi.org/10.1080/10550887.2011.609805
