Preventing HIV transmission in drug treatment programs: what works?

The AIDS epidemic has dramatically affected drug treatment programs, creating both an epidemiological crisis and a psychological one. A paramount question for treatment program staff is how to prevent patients from acquiring or spreading HIV. The health belief model has been useful in generating prevention approaches, including programs that raise the threat of infection, provide alternative behaviors, and build social support. Some of these programs have been effective in changing attitudes and reducing the behaviors that put drug users at risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV. Future research will develop collaborative studies, disseminate techniques to drug treatment programs, and develop more powerful interventions for patients who continue with risky behaviors.