Predictors of bleach use among current African-American injecting drug users: a community study

One hundred seventeen African-American current injecting drug users were interviewed in a closely matched pair of census tract communities in Dallas, Texas. A brief street intercept interview was administered that included an eligibility screener and questions on sexual behaviors with main or other partners and on injection drug paraphernalia bleaching behavior. Multiple regressions were conducted to determine significant predictors of frequency and duration of cleaning needles with bleach using different models (risk, attitude, exposure, and full). The variables measuring risk behaviors were age, frequency of sharing, exchanging sex for money, and sexual partner's use of injecting drugs. The predictors for the attitude model included normative, attitudinal, and self-efficacy items. The exposure to HIV information variables included seeing/hearing information; talking to someone about HIV, condoms, cleaning needles; and antibody testing for HIV. The full model combined predictors from each of the other models. Overall, bleach use is best explained in terms of specific attitudes rather than risk behaviors or information about HIV.