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A short questionnaire (IRQ) to assess injecting risk behaviour
G V Stimson1, S Jones, C Chalmers
1Department of Social Science and Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, University of London, UK.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|May 18, 1999
Summary
A new Injecting Risk Questionnaire (IRQ) effectively measures sharing of injecting equipment among drug users. The IRQ is reliable and performs well across various settings and administration methods, capturing more sharing instances than single questions.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Sharing of injecting equipment is a significant risk factor for transmitting infectious diseases among people who inject drugs (IDUs).
- Accurate measurement of equipment sharing is crucial for targeted prevention strategies.
- Existing methods for assessing sharing behaviors may be insufficient or prone to underreporting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a concise Injecting Risk Questionnaire (IRQ) for measuring the sharing of injecting equipment.
- To evaluate the questionnaire's performance across diverse settings and administration methods.
- To compare the effectiveness of the IRQ with a single-item measure of sharing.
Main Methods:
- A matrix design with quota assignment was employed to compare the IRQ administered via interview versus self-completion.
- The study involved drug users who had injected in the last 4 weeks, recruited from drug treatment agencies and community settings in England.
- Questionnaire performance was assessed using measures of acceptability, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha), and construct validity.
Main Results:
- The IRQ demonstrated high acceptability and robust test-retest and internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.86).
- The questionnaire performed consistently across different sites, administration methods (interview vs. self-completion), and participant characteristics.
- The comprehensive IRQ identified higher rates of equipment sharing (77%) compared to a single question (56%).
Conclusions:
- The Injecting Risk Questionnaire (IRQ) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing injecting equipment sharing among diverse populations of IDUs.
- The IRQ is effective across various settings and administration methods, offering a more comprehensive measure than single-item questions.
- The findings support the use of the IRQ for improved risk assessment and targeted interventions in public health programs for IDUs.
