A national physician survey on prescribing syringes as an HIV prevention measure

Table 3 Univariate responses to survey questions

	Total	Yes		No		Don't know
	n	n	(%)	n	(%)	n	(%)
Do you have injection drug users (IDUs) as patients in your practice?	571	232	40.6%	339	59.4%	-	-
Is it legal in your state to prescribe syringes?	572	40	70.0%	82	14.3%	450	78.7%
Would you consider prescribing syringes as part of an effort to prevent blood-borne pathogens?	568	267	47.0%	160	28.2%	141	24.8%
Do you know other MDs who prescribe syringes?	571	42	7.40%	529	92.6%	-	-
Why do you think IDUs share needles?
They don't know any better	509	278	54.6%	231	45.4%
It is part of the drug culture	531	441	83.1%	90	16.9%
They don't have access to enough syringes	537	505	94.0%	32	6.0%
Lack of money	530	478	90.2%	52	9.8%
Fear of going to a needle exchange facility	503	395	78.5%	108	21.5%
Do you raise the issue of drug use when reviewing a patient's medical status or history?		417	98.1%	8	1.9%
Do you ask your patients about their use of individual illegal drugs?		554	96.3%	21	3.7%
Have you ever prescribed syringes to diabetic patients that you knew or suspected would use them to inject illegal drugs		57	10.1%	509	98.9%
Have you ever prescribed syringes to patient with no other indication that you suspected would use them to inject illegal drugs to prevent spread of disease?		19	3.4%	546	96.6%

ISSN: 1747-597X