       Document 0790
 DOCN  M9460790
 TI    Comparison of self-reported injection frequencies for past 30 days and 6
       months among intravenous drug users.
 DT    9404
 AU    Schutz CG; Vlahov D; Anthony JC; Graham NM; Etiology Branch, National
       Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD; 21224.
 SO    J Clin Epidemiol. 1994 Feb;47(2):191-5. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/94157593
 AB    In this study we compared two parallel self-reported measures that now
       are being used to assess the recent frequency of intravenous drug use.
       This study sample consisted of 926 HIV seronegative drug users recruited
       for participation in HIV research. During a standard interview with each
       drug user, we first asked about injections in the past 30 days, and then
       about injections in the past 6 months. The correlation between reports
       on the past 6 months and the past 30 days was appreciable when all
       injections were considered (Spearman correlation coefficient rho =
       0.78). It increased when the sample was restricted to subjects who
       reported injections in the past month (rho = 0.88). This restriction
       resulted in a 15% reduction of the sample size, since 137 participants
       reported drug use in the previous 6 months but not in the previous 30
       days. Concordance tended to be slightly higher for reported frequencies
       of heroin injections than for cocaine injections, and for men as
       compared to women. The observed levels of concordance indicate that in
       many instances both approaches can yield comparable results.
       Nevertheless the choice of 30 days recall vs 6 months recall must rest
       upon the specific research questions of each investigation.
 DE    Adult  *Cocaine  Comparative Study  *Diacetylmorphine  Female  Follow-Up
       Studies  Human  HIV Seronegativity  Injections, Intravenous/STATISTICS &
       NUMER DATA  Longitudinal Studies  Male  Sex Factors  Substance Abuse,
       Intravenous/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

