return rates for needle exchange programs a common criticism answered返回率对针具交换项目普遍批评回答.pdfVIP

Harm Reduction Journal BioMed Central Review Open Access Return Rates for Needle Exchange Programs: A Common Criticism Answered Kate Ksobiech* Address: Center for AIDS Intervention Research (CAIR), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202, United States Email: Kate Ksobiech* - kksobiec@ * Corresponding author Published: 19 April 2004 Received: 08 February 2004 Accepted: 19 April 2004 Harm Reduction Journal 2004, 1:2 This article is available from: /content/1/1/2 © 2004 Ksobiech; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the articles original URL. Needle exchange programsreturn ratespublic policy Abstract This study searched the available needle exchange program (NEP) literature for return rate data. A total of 26 articles were found. The overall worldwide return rate was 90%, although this ranged from a low of 15% to a high of 112%. U.S. NEP return rates were gathered from only eight studies, indicating a clear need for more data, although U.S. return rates were comparable to those from NEPs outside of the U.S. One underlying assumption made by opponents of NEPs is that IDUs will not return needles to the distribution site, thereby potentially increasing the risk of health problems to the surroundin