The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia

Hepatitis C is now the most commonly reported infectious disease in Australia and more than 90% of all infections are the result of injecting drug use. Efforts in Australia to reduce the transmission of this virus among injecting populations have largely been unsuccessful, although there is some evi...

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Main Author: Carruthers, Susan
Format: Journal Article
Published: Informa Healthcare 2003
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13407
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author Carruthers, Susan
author_facet Carruthers, Susan
author_sort Carruthers, Susan
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Hepatitis C is now the most commonly reported infectious disease in Australia and more than 90% of all infections are the result of injecting drug use. Efforts in Australia to reduce the transmission of this virus among injecting populations have largely been unsuccessful, although there is some evidence that incidence and prevalence rates in this country are declining. While the sharing of needles and syringes probably remains the risk of highest magnitude, the sharing of other equipment, the receiving or giving of injections and other practices involved in the injection of drugs are also implicated in the transmission of hepatitis C. This paper reports the findings from an in-depth examination of the act of injection using a recorded observation method. The findings indicate that there are multiple opportunities throughout the process of injection which could contribute to transmission. In particular, the degree of physical contact between those injecting contributes to the risk of contact with possibly infected blood. The implications of these findings on the design of prevention material are discussed.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-134072018-09-07T04:02:51Z The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia Carruthers, Susan behaviours injecting drug use risk factors hepatitis C Hepatitis C is now the most commonly reported infectious disease in Australia and more than 90% of all infections are the result of injecting drug use. Efforts in Australia to reduce the transmission of this virus among injecting populations have largely been unsuccessful, although there is some evidence that incidence and prevalence rates in this country are declining. While the sharing of needles and syringes probably remains the risk of highest magnitude, the sharing of other equipment, the receiving or giving of injections and other practices involved in the injection of drugs are also implicated in the transmission of hepatitis C. This paper reports the findings from an in-depth examination of the act of injection using a recorded observation method. The findings indicate that there are multiple opportunities throughout the process of injection which could contribute to transmission. In particular, the degree of physical contact between those injecting contributes to the risk of contact with possibly infected blood. The implications of these findings on the design of prevention material are discussed. 2003 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13407 10.1080/1465989021000067191 Informa Healthcare restricted
spellingShingle behaviours
injecting drug use
risk factors
hepatitis C
Carruthers, Susan
The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia
title The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia
title_full The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia
title_fullStr The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia
title_short The ins and outs of injection in Western Australia
title_sort ins and outs of injection in western australia
topic behaviours
injecting drug use
risk factors
hepatitis C
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13407