Table # 1 Respondent’s Education

Table #6 Urine screening results for Amphetamines

Figure 1. Participant Flow Chart Table #2. Respondent’s Age Table #3 HIV/HCV prevalence Table #4. Respondents' marital Status

Results of urine screening revealed that illicit substance use declined over time

irrespective of condition (p<.001), please see table #5 and 6. Table #5 Urine screening results for Morphine

It is of great public health importance in Georgia to avoid the HIV and HCV rates that are seen in Georgia’s largest neighbor, Russia, where 30% of PWUD are HIV-positive (6), and up to 95% of PWUD are HCV-positive (7).

Women comprise only 2% of the patient population in substance use treatment in Georgia, and research-examining patterns of substance use in Georgian women is lacking.

1. Wechsberg WM, Krupitsky E, Romanova T, Zvartau E, Luseno W, Browne F, Middlesteadt Ellerson R, Zule W. Double jeopardy for drug using women in Russia: Injecting and sexual risk reported in a small trial. In: College on Problems of Drug Dependence Annual Meeting, June 20-25, 2009; Reno, NV.

2. Greig A, Peacock D, Jewkes R, Msimang S. Gender and AIDS: Time to act. AIDS 2008;22:S35-S43.

3. Georgian Research Institute of Addiction, New Way. Evaluation of drug treatment in Georgia. Tbilisi, Georgia: Georgian Research Institute of Addiction; 2008.

4. Stvilia K, Tsertsvadze T, Sharvadze L, Aladashvili M, del Rio C, Kuniholm MH, Nelson KE. Prevalence of hepatitis C, HIV, and risk behaviors for blood-borne infections: A population-based survey of the adult population of T’bilisi, Republic of Georgia. Journal of Urban Health 2006;83(2):289–298.

5. Bidzinashvili K, Kirtadze I. Report on the female IDU project. Tbilisi, Georgia: Step to Future; 2009.

6. Kruse GR, Barbour R, Heimer R, Shaboltas AV, Toussova OV, Hoffman IF, Kozlov AP. Drug choice, spatial distribution, HIV risk, and HIV prevalence among injection drug users in St. Petersburg, Russia. Harm Reduction Journal 2009;6:22.

7. Paintsil E, Verevochkin SV, Dukhovlinova E, Niccolai L, Barbour R, White E, Toussova OV, Alexander L, Kozlov AP, Heimer R. Hepatitis C virus infection among drug injectors in St Petersburg, Russia: Social and molecular epidemiology of an endemic infection. Addiction 2009.

Drug use patterns among participants in a woman-focused RCT in Georgia  I.  Kirtadze1,,  D.  O0ashvili1,  K.  O’Grady2,  W.  Zule3,  E.  Krupitsky4,  W.  Wechsberg3    H.  Jones5,6  

 1  –  Addic(on  Research  Center,  Alterna(ve  Georgia,  Tbilisi  0177  Georgia  (Republic  of);  2  -­‐Department  of  Psychology,  University  of  Maryland,  College  Park,  MD  20742,  USA;  3  -­‐  RTI  Interna(onal,  Research  Triangle  Park,  NC  27709,  USA;  4  -­‐Department  of  Addic(ons,  Bekhterev  Research  Psychoneurological  Ins(tute,  St.  Petersburg  192019,  Russia;  5–  

UNC  Horizons  Program,  Department  of  Obstetrics  and  Gynecology,  School  of  Medicine,  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill,  Chapel  Hill,  NC  27514,  USA;  6  –  Departments  of  Psychiatry  and  Obstetrics  and  Gynecology,  School  of  Medicine,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Bal(more,  MD  21224,  USA  

This research was supported by NIDA grant R01 DA029880 (Hendrée E. Jones, PI). The authors would like to thank project IMEDI research staff who participated in data collection and study participants for their valuable time and effort. NIDA played no role in the: 1) study design; 2) collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; 3) writing of the report; or 4) decision to submit or where to submit the paper for publication. Authors declare no conflict of interest related to this study.

References

Background Results (continued) Results (continued)

Eligibility criteria: Injection of illicit drugs in the past 30 days verified by venipuncture stigmata and sexually active at least once in the past 30 days.

Intervention condition received a structured 12-session intervention focusing on HIV/HCV prevention, mental and physical health, drug and alcohol use cessation.

Usual care condition received information and case management for 12 sessions.

Urine drug screening was conducted at every session, baseline and 1- and 3-month follow up assessments.

Methods

Preliminary findings suggest treatment resulted in a marked reduction in use of illicit substances in both conditions. There were no significant differences in outcomes between the conditions. Interventions that are women-centered, accessible, confidential, receptive, and provide a non-judgmental and caring environment are beneficial for women with substance-use-related problems.

Conclusions The purpose of this poster presentation is to depict preliminary results from small-scale RCT IMEDI study and show the drug use patterns among women who use illicit substance and the rate of HIV infection.

Purpose

Screened  for  eligibility  (n=172)  

Included  (n=128)                                                    met  study  inclusion  criteria's  

Interven(on  group  (n=64)  

Usual  Care  group  (n=64)  

Excluded  (n=44)                                                          did  not  met  study  criteria’s  

       -­‐  21  were  not  regular  injectors          -­‐    4  did  not  have  sex  during  past  3  months          -­‐  11  were  not  regular  injectors  and    did  not  have  regular  sexual  contacts  during  past  3  months          -­‐  4  were  non-­‐injec(on  drug  users          -­‐  4  faked  urine  samples  

Results

Contact Information: Irma Kirtadze, M.D., Ph.D.(c) Senior Researcher

Acknowledgment

Addiction Research Center, Alternative Georgia 14a Nutsubidze Str., Office 2, 0177 Tbilisi, Georgia Email: irma@altgeorgia.ge