Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Articles describing empirical research were eligible. Policy descriptions, conference proceedings, letters, book chapters and doctoral dissertations were excluded. The included studies were longitudinal before-and-after studies or cross-sectional surveys.
Specific interventions included in the review
Drug abuse treatments were eligible. The actual interventions included the following, either alone or in combination: methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), which was included in most interventions; naltrexone therapy; alcohol treatment; the community reinforcement approach; individual counselling, one to three times per week; detoxification; and experimental supplementary therapies. Treatment programmes were conducted on both an in-patient (short- and long-term) and out-patient basis.
Participants included in the review
The inclusion criteria were not defined in terms of participants. The following groups of actual participants, who were either entering or currently receiving treatment for dependence, were included: intravenous drug users (IDU), the largest group; alcoholics; cocaine-dependent patients; and heroin addicted prostitutes. Both men and women of varying ethnicity (Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native American) were included.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Studies reporting HIV risk behaviours and HIV seroconversions were eligible.
The actual outcomes assessed were HIV seroconversion rates and self-reports of the following: drug-related risk behaviour including injection frequency and needle-sharing; and sex-related risk behaviour including the number of sexual partners, condom use, involvement in prostitution, and having sex with an IDU.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the reviewers performed the selection.