HIV Infection in Ethnic Minority IDUs: An International Systematic Review

Funding Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Funding Period: 2008-2012
Principal Investigator: Don C. Des Jarlais, Ph.D.
CDUHR Co-Investigator(s): Holly Hagan, Ph.D.

In the U.S., African-Americans comprise 13% of the population and 52% of injection drug use AIDS cases; Hispanics constitute 14% of the population and 24% of injection drug use AIDS cases. These disparities are not the result of more injection drug use among African-Americans and Hispanics, but of higher rates of HIV infection among African-American and Hispanic injection drug users (IDUs) in many areas of the country. Similar disparities (i.e., higher rates of HIV infection among ethnic minority IDUs) have also been observed in many foreign countries. The current study will conduct a systematic review of published and unpublished data from the U.S. and internationally on ethnic group differences in HIV infection among IDUs. The study will develop procedures for combining quantitative and qualitative data from multiple research studies in a single geographic area into a “history of the HIV epidemic among IDUs” in that area. In addition, it will determine the frequency with which substantial differences in HIV prevalence occurred, or did not occur, among ethnic minority vs. ethnic majority IDUs. The study will identify potential causal factors that may generate or reduce these differences. The research will create an extremely rich dataset on HIV infection among ethnic drug users that will be made available for use by other researchers and HIV prevention service providers to address the disparities found in the United States and other countries.