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Full-Text Articles in Public Health

Access To Syringes For Hiv Prevention For Injection Drug Users In St. Petersburg, Russia: Syringe Purchase Test Study, Ekaterina Fedorova, Roman Skochilov, Robert Heimer, Patricia Case, Leo Beletsky, Lauretta Grau, Andrey Kozlov, Alla Shaboltas Mar 2013

Access To Syringes For Hiv Prevention For Injection Drug Users In St. Petersburg, Russia: Syringe Purchase Test Study, Ekaterina Fedorova, Roman Skochilov, Robert Heimer, Patricia Case, Leo Beletsky, Lauretta Grau, Andrey Kozlov, Alla Shaboltas

Leo Beletsky

Background The HIV epidemic in Russia is concentrated among injection drug users (IDUs). This is especially true for St. Petersburg where high HIV incidence persists among the city's estimated 80,000 IDUs. Although sterile syringes are legally available, access for IDUs may be hampered. To explore the feasibility of using pharmacies to expand syringe access and provide other prevention services to IDUs, we investigated the current access to sterile syringes at the pharmacies and the correlation between pharmacy density and HIV prevalence in St. Petersburg. Methods 965 pharmacies citywide were mapped, classified by ownership type, and the association between pharmacy density …


Policy Reform To Shift The Health And Human Rights Environment For Vulnerable Groups: The Case Of Kyrgyzstan's Instruction 417, Leo Beletsky, Rachel Thomas, Marina Smelyanskaya, Irina Artamonova, Natalya Shumskaya, Aijan Dooronbekova, Aibek Mukambetov, Heather Doyle, Rebecca Tolson Jan 2013

Policy Reform To Shift The Health And Human Rights Environment For Vulnerable Groups: The Case Of Kyrgyzstan's Instruction 417, Leo Beletsky, Rachel Thomas, Marina Smelyanskaya, Irina Artamonova, Natalya Shumskaya, Aijan Dooronbekova, Aibek Mukambetov, Heather Doyle, Rebecca Tolson

Leo Beletsky

Background: Police activities shape behavior and health outcomes among drug users, sex workers, and other vulnerable groups. Interventions to change the policing of drug consumption and sex work in ways that facilitate public health programming and respect for human rights have included policy reforms, education, and litigation. In 2009, the Kyrgyz government promulgated “Instruction 417,” prohibiting police interference with “harm reduction” programs, re-enforcing citizen rights, addressing police occupational safety concerns, and institutionalizing police-public health collaboration. Objectives/Methods: Although ample evidence points to gaps between intended and actual impact of policy and other structural interventions, there is little research on the impact …