Objectives: The impact of a syringe services program (SSP) policy on risk behaviors and its durability are not as well studied as the impact of the SSPs themselves. We examined whether trends in syringe sharing among persons who inject drugs (PWID) were associated with changes to syringe access policies in 3 US cities: Denver, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
Methods: PWID were surveyed through National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System surveys in each city in 2005, 2009, 2012, and 2015. We assessed changes in syringe sharing from 2005 to 2015 by city. We used multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis to measure the associations among syringe sharing and injection works sharing, time, and SSP access.
Results: From 2005 to 2015, syringe sharing decreased significantly from 49.1% to 33.1% in Denver (P < .001), increased significantly from 32.0% to 50.5% in New Orleans (P < .001), and remained unchanged in Philadelphia (30.4% to 31.5%; P = .87). Compared with persons who obtained syringes from any nonsterile source, the adjusted odds of syringe sharing among PWID were significantly lower in each city if syringes were obtained from sterile sources only: Denver adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.23 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18-0.30; New Orleans aOR = 0.26 (95% CI, 0.19-0.35), and Philadelphia aOR = 0.43 (95% CI, 0.33-0.57).
Conclusions: The lowest proportion of PWID reporting syringe sharing was in Philadelphia, which has a long-standing legal SSP. Implementation of a legal SSP in Denver in 2012 corresponded to a decrease in sharing, whereas the lack of a legal SSP in New Orleans corresponded to an increase in sharing. Universal long-term access to legal SSPs could further the progress made in HIV prevention among PWID.
Keywords: NHBS; persons who inject drugs; syringe access; syringe service program policy; syringe sharing.