Self-Report Interview Data for a Study of HIV-1 Infection among Intravenous Drug Users: Description of Methods and Preliminary Evidence on Validity

This article presents a description and preliminary evidence on validity of self-report interview methods being used in a study of HIV-1 infection and AIDS among intravenous drug users (IVDUs). The study population includes 2,616 currently active IVDUs living in or near Baltimore City, Maryland (USA), many of them reporting no prior treatment for drug dependence, and many with no history of criminal arrest or incarceration. These IVDUs were recruited in 1988–89 by extensive community outreach efforts; most learned of the study by word-of-mouth. To study IV drug use and HIV-1 infection in relation to onset of AIDS, the subjects are being interviewed, examined, and tested at baseline (recruitment), and periodically thereafter. This report compares information from the self-report baseline interview with independently collected data on physical stigmata of drug injection, T-lymphocyte cell subsets, and HIV-1 serostatus. The evidence generally supports the validity of these self-report data on IV drug use, including data from a year-by-year history of sharing injection equipment, obtained by retrospection at baseline.