OBJECTIVE: To explore heroin users' accounts of risk behavior in relation to the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the district of Vila Real, northern Portugal, since heroin is the predominant drug in problematic drug use in Portugal and 48% of the total notifications of HIV infection in the country are associated with drug addiction. METHOD: Heroin users in an outpatient addiction treatment public center, randomly selected, were invited to participate. Data collection was via semi-structured qualitative interview designed to explore participants' accounts of health risk behavior associated with heroin use. RESULTS: Twenty-five interviews were conducted. Mean age was 32 years and 92% were men. A mean of 14.7 years of heroin use was reported, and 64% in total referring daily drug use. Two-thirds reported use of heroin and 16% reported intravenous drug use over the previous 30 days. Seventy-five percent reported having shared needles or paraphernalia. Front-loading or back-loading was common and not recognized as risk behavior. Eighty-four percent reported being tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime. CONCLUSIONS: It is essential to design better HIV prevention programs for this high risk group, using information on demographic movements and behavioral patterns of heroin users and addressing their risk behaviors in sexual practices and in sharing injection paraphernalia.
HIV; risk-taking; heroin; Portugal; intravenous substance abuse
