Yale University

Attitudes Toward Addiction, Methadone Treatment, and Recovery Among HIV-Infected Ukrainian Prisoners Who Inject Drugs: Incarceration Effects and Exploration of Mediators.

TitleAttitudes Toward Addiction, Methadone Treatment, and Recovery Among HIV-Infected Ukrainian Prisoners Who Inject Drugs: Incarceration Effects and Exploration of Mediators.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2016
AuthorsPolonsky, Maxim, Julia Rozanova, Lyuba Azbel, Chethan Bachireddy, Jacob Izenberg, Tetiana Kiriazova, Sergii Dvoryak, and Frederick L. Altice
JournalAIDS and behavior
Date Published2016 Mar 24
ISSN1573-3254
AbstractIn this study, we use data from a survey conducted in Ukraine among 196 HIV-infected people who inject drugs, to explore attitudes toward drug addiction and methadone maintenance therapy (MMT), and intentions to change drug use during incarceration and after release from prison. Two groups were recruited: Group 1 (n = 99) was currently incarcerated and Group 2 (n = 97) had been recently released from prison. This paper's key finding is that MMT treatment and addiction recovery were predominantly viewed as mutually exclusive processes. Group comparisons showed that participants in Group 1 (pre-release) exhibited higher optimism about changing their drug use, were less likely to endorse methadone, and reported higher intention to recover from their addiction. Group 2 participants (post-release), however, reported higher rates of HIV stigma. Structural equation modeling revealed that in both groups, optimism about recovery and awareness of addiction mediated the effect of drug addiction severity on intentions to recover from their addiction.
DOI10.1007/s10461-016-1375-0
Alternate JournalAIDS Behav

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