Systematic Review of Peer-Based Interventions with Injection Drug Users
Injection drug use remains an important risk factor for HIV transmission. Literature on the use of injection drug users (IDUs) as peers in interventions to promote HIV risk reduction to other drug users indicates that this practice can have beneficial effects, namely on the reduction of injection risk behaviours such as needle sharing. Many of the studies reviewed also count on IDU social network recruitment in order to reach IDUs who are not in contact with prevention programs. That being said, this approach also raises the need to properly train and support IDUs peers through various theoretical approaches. Indeed, the interventions carried out are rarely single interventions ; instead, they are based on a combination of theoretical approaches seeking to induce behavioural changes and support the preventive action by increasing the skills of IDU peers. The replication of the same kind of interventions by IDU peers under different conditions and various social and cultural contexts thus reflects the strong potential of this approach. So, it would be appropriate to suggest peer-based interventions, based on the various theoretical approaches and as proposed by the studies reviewed, and to evaluate the effects in the Quebec context.