The Street/Treatment Barrier: Treatment Experiences of Puerto Rican Injection Drug Users

The treatment experiences of Puerto Rican long-term heroin users who are at extremely high risk for HIV infection and the barriers they perceive to drug treatment are described and policy recommendations for increasing drug treatment access are suggested.

Abstract

This study describes, through ethnographic interviews, the treatment experiences of Puerto Rican long-term heroin users who are at extremely high risk for HIV infection and the barriers they perceive to drug treatment. On the basis of this information we suggest policy recommendations for increasing drug treatment access for Puerto Rican long-term injectors of heroin. It is critical that Puerto Rican populations access drug treatment facilities given their risk factors for HIV infection and the high rate of poverty in Puerto Rican communities that exacerbates drug use.