Australian NSP Survey National Data Report 2007 – 2011

The Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey (ANSPS) provides serial point prevalence estimates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies and sexual and injecting behavioural indices of risk among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Australia. Conducted annually over a one-two week period in October, all clients attending participating needle and syringe program (NSP) services are invited to complete a brief, anonymous questionnaire and to provide a capillary blood sample for HIV and HCV antibody testing.

This report presents national and state/territory data for the period 2007 to 2011.

Key findings
  • In 2011, 53 NSP services participated in the ANSPS and 2,395 NSP attendees completed the survey.
  • The median age of survey respondents increased from 35 years to 37 years over the period 2007 to 2011 with a concurrent decrease in the proportion of young people (aged less than 25 years) from 10% in 2007 to 8% in 2011.
  • Between 2007 and 2011, HIV antibody prevalence remained low at 1.5% or less nationally and at 2.5% or less in all state and territories.
  • HCV antibody prevalence declined significantly over the period, from 62% in 2007 to 53% in 2011, with the decline evident among both men (61% to 54%) and women (64% to 52%).
  • Over the period 2007 to 2011, the proportion of respondents reporting daily or more frequent injection in the month prior to the survey remained stable at between 47% and 50%.
Australian NSP Survey National Data Report 2007 – 2011 1.17 MB pdf
Year published
2012
Report type
Australian NSP Survey National Data Reports
Research program
Viral Hepatitis Epidemiology and Prevention Program
Project
Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey (ANSPS)
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