Ineffectiveness of AIDS education and HIV antibody testing in reducing high-risk behaviors among injection drug users

The effectiveness of education in reducing high‐risk human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission behaviors was examined in 313 injection drug users. Involvement in high‐risk behaviors was assessed via structured interview at study entry and 4 months following the intervention. Subjects were randomly assigned to (1) AIDS education, (2) AIDS education with optional HIV antibody testing, or (3) a wait list. The sample as a whole decreased its involvement in high‐risk behaviors, but there were no significant differences as a function of experimental group assignment.