The utility of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change for HIV risk reduction in injection drug users.

The spread of HIV among injection drug users (IDUs) is the second most common mode of transmission next to sexual contact. Although HIV infections can be prevented by changing high-risk behaviors such as needle sharing, these high-risk behaviors are highly complex. Initially developed for smoking cessation, Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model (TTM) is well-suited to the IDU population because it recognizes that chronic behavior patterns are usually under some combination of biological, social, and self-control. The objective of this article is to examine the utility of the TTM for promoting risk reduction behaviors among IDUs. This article will outline (a) the challenges of applying the TTM to IDU behaviors with respect to HIV prevention, (b) the four major components of the TTM as they relate to IDUs, (c) how risk reduction practitioners are currently using the TTM, and (d) current and future research using the TTM.