The Effect of Harm Reductions Program on the Injection Behavior of Injection Drug Users in Indonesia

This study aimed to identify the effect of HIV-AIDS harm reduction program on the injection behavior of injection drug users (IDUs). This study used a cross-sectional survey secondary data from the Indonesia Integrated Biological and Behavioral Survey of 2013, selecting 430 IDU respondents who had met with outreach workers in 4 major cities, namely Yogyakarta, Tangerang, Pontianak, and Makassar. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to determine the effect of harm reduction program. The proportion of IDUs who had engaged in risky behavior was 44.3%, and that of IDUs who had not accessed harm reduction programs was 54.1%. The effect of harm reduction programs on the risky injection behavior of these IDUs varied according to marital status. Among unmarried IDUs, those who did not access harm reduction programs had a 1.3 times higher chance of engaging in risky injection (ORa 1.3, 95% CI 0.6-2.7). Among married IDUs, those who did not access harm reduction programs had a 5.4 times higher chance of engaging in risky injection (ORa 5.4, 95% CI 3.6-8.1). Other factors contributing to injection behavior were age, living area, condom use, the duration of injection drugs use, and the total number of injection partners. More effort is required to optimalize harm reduction programs and make them comprehensive in order to decrease risky injection behaviors and thereby prevent HIV-AIDS transmission among IDUs.