Health and risk behavior characteristics of injecting drug users in lithuania in 2010

SUMMARY The purpose: to evaluate the health and risky behaviour‘s peculiarities of injected drugs users. Methodology: the respondents – the persons, who take a part in the programe of danger reduction when using drugs. These persons are attending the low threshold services cabinets in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Alytus, Druskininkai, Mažeikiai and Visaginas. For the interview was used the anonymous questionnaire made by specialists of The Drugs Control Department. There is the analysis of 2010 of the questionnaires from the low threshold services cabinets. The selection of survey – not expected target. There was received 739 questionnaires, and 718 of them were suitable for the survey. We did the analysis of 97 % of all the questionnaires. We used the chi square criteria to evaluate the strength of the statistical relations between symptoms: the number of the degrees of freedom, the statistical reliability (p), the coefficient of correlation (r). We think because the conclusions are statistical significant when p0,05) and education level (p>0,05). 29,7 % of the respondents for the first time used cannabis. 76,9 % of the respondents at the last time for to take the injected drugs did use the sterile needles and syringes. 46,1 % of IDU said cause they never used condoms. Even 71,9 % of respondents which have hepatitis C virus (p>0,05), and 46,2 % of them having positive HIV (p=0,0001), when the last time were having sex, they didn’t use the condoms. 26 % of the women and 0,6 % of men were providing the sexual services (p=0,0001). The most responds till 19 years old 25 (64,1 %) of them never did the test to confirm or not the hepatitis C virus. 88 (62,4 %) respondents who are older than 40 years old did the test for HCV to detect and they know their tests results. 12 % of respondents are infected by HIV. 18, 3 % of HIV infected respondents were older than 40 years old (p=0,0001). 35 (40,7 %) respondents infected by HIV are registered as an unemployed, only 8 (9,3 %) are working (p=0,001). The most huge part of respondents – 45 (52,3 %) – who are infected by HIV, they use the injected drugs every day (p=0,001). 38,4 % of the respondents who are infected by HIV did try the poppy seed extract for the first time in their lives, and 14 (16,3 %) did try the heroin (p=0,031). 45,3 % of respondents did have the sex (p=0,0001). 38,5 % of infected by HIV did always use the condoms while making love, and 35,9 % of respondents – never used the condoms (p=0,001). Conclusions: by the results of our research, the injected drug usage is an important problem of public health. Knowing that fact, it is necessary to continue the similar researches of the injected drugs users health and risky behavior aspects in Lithuania and to evaluate the results of researches. Key words: injected drugs users, the risky behavior, the programe of danger reduction, the low threshold services