The connection between AIDS and drug injection is well established. Through June 2000, injection drug users accounted for more than a third of all cases reported among persons aged 13 or older to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis C virus (HCV), transmitted primarily through sharing drug preparation and injection equipment, is also a major public health concern. Sixty percent of HCV transmission is related to injection drug use and as many as 50-95% of injection drug users are infected with HCV. This study tests two strategies to reduce the risk of contracting HIV or HCV by reducing risk behaviors in patients undergoing drug detoxification. The first includes pre-test counseling, testing, post-test counseling, and the provision of HIV/HCV results. The second strategy, called therapeutic alliance, provides clients with information to guide them through the process of role induction and aims to facilitate transition to continuing care for drug treatment. Both will be compared to standard care in drug detoxification settings.

This was a randomized, controlled trial that enrolled 1285 participants who were identified with problematic substance use during an ED visit. Participants were randomized to one of three treatment arms: 1) minimal screening only (MSO), 2) screening, assessment, and referral to treatment (SAR), and 3) screening, assessment, and referral plus a brief intervention (BI) with two telephone follow-up booster sessions (BI-B). Follow-up assessments of all three groups were conducted at 3, 6, and 12 months post-randomization. The primary aim of the study was to compare the days of use of the patient-defined primary problem drug, assessed by the Time-Line Follow-Back, for the 30-day period preceding the 3-month follow-up between the three treatment arms. The study also evaluated a number of secondary outcome measures.

Drug treatment, itself, can have a powerful positive effect on HIV drug use risk behavior, especially needle use behaviors. However, sexual risk behavior has received less attention and has been shown to be more difficult to change. Research suggests that skills-based HIV risk reduction interventions with peer group discussion and single sex sessions can reduce risky sexual behavior. This study evaluates a five-session HIV risk reduction group therapy designed specifically for heterosexual men. This therapy is compared to one session of HIV education, which is typically provided as standard care in drug treatment clinics. The researchers hypothesize that men in the gender-specific therapy group will report less risky sexual behavior than men in standard therapy. They are also expected to have a more positive attitude towards condom use, be more likely to have condoms, be more likely to have taken condoms from clinic.

The primary objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of bupropion in reducing methamphetamine use in subjects with methamphetamine dependence who report using methamphetamine 29 or less days during the 30 day prior to signing consent. It is hypothesized that bupropion, compared to placebo, will be associated with an increase in the proportion of subjects who achieve abstinence (confirmed by at least two methamphetamine negative urines) each week during the last two weeks (Weeks 11 and 12) for non-daily users as the primary outcome.