'Dropouts' or 'drop-ins'? Client retention and participation in New Haven's needle exchange program.

TL;DRAbstract

Although evidence is accumulating that needle exchange programs can lower the risk of parenterally transmitted infections, their effectiveness is compromised if they suffer from low client participation. A legal needle exchange in New Haven, CT, has been studied since its inception in November 1990, employing a tracking system to analyze the characteristics of clients participating during the first 20 months of the program. Thirty-four percent of injection drug users who enrolled in the program during the study period made only a single visit. Younger clients were more likely to be in the single visit group. For clients who visited the program more than once, the retention fraction, defined as the ratio of total client-specific observed person-days to full enrollment person-days during the 20-month study period was 67.7 percent, with a median duration of participation of 333 days. Further analysis of the client characteristics, based on surveys completed upon enrollment in the program,

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