Sustained aids education campaigns and behavioural changes in Italian drug abusers

In the area of Padua, northern Italy, fear of AIDS along with AIDS educational campaigns had reduced risk behaviours for HIV among intravenous drug abusers (IVDA) as early as 1987, although at that time 38% of seropositive cases still shared needles and only 22% of subjects used condoms. The present study has been conducted in the same area and with similar criteria to evaluate the effectiveness and limits of a sustained education campaign. Drug related and sexual risk behaviours and motivations preventing behavioural changes were investigated by direct interview in 190 IVDA.