The role of social influence in opiate substitution therapy

Opiate substitution therapy is an evidence based intervention for reducing the health risks of addiction to opiates. Among people who inject drugs, it is associated with reduced injecting frequency, and reduced risk of hepatitis C and HIV infection. The effects of social influence have been investigated in many aspects of health, including obesity, smoking and drug use; however, few studies have investigated the role of social influence on the probability of initiating or continuing opiate substation therapy. The Networks 2 study was a longitudinal study investigating the social networks of people who inject drugs. Participants were asked about recent opiate substitution therapy at each 3-monthly interview and followed for three years. In order to ascertain their social network, participants were asked who they inject drugs with, the nature of the social connection (e.g., friendship, sexual partners, kinship, etc). Injecting contacts were recruited for participation in the study, but asking the primary participant to introduce their contacts to the study investigators. This research study will investigate the effect of the opiate substitution therapy status of the contacts on the opiate substitution therapy usage of the individual.