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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2003.035899v1 96/2/288    most recent Submit a response View responses View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stimson, G. V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Stimson, G. V. Related Collections HIV/AIDS Public Health Practice Other Statistics/Evaluation/Research Drugs

Gerry V. Stimson, PhD, Chris Fitch, MA, Don Des Jarlais, PhD, Vladimir Poznyak, MD, PhD, Theresa Perlis, PhD, Edna Oppenheimer, MA, Tim Rhodes, PhD for The Who Phase II Drug Injection Collaborative Study Group

Gerry V. Stimson is with the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, Imperial College London, London, England, and the International Harm Reduction Association, London. At the time of this study, Chris Fitch was with the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour and the HIV/AIDS Knowledge Programme, Imperial College London. Don Des Jarlais and Theresa Perlis are with the Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, and National Development and Research Institutes Inc, New York. Vladimir Poznyak is with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Edna Oppenheimer and Tim Rhodes are with the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, Imperial College London.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Gerry V. Stimson, PhD, Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, Imperial College London, Reynolds Building, St. Dunstan’s Road, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom (e-mail: g.stimson{at}imperial.ac.uk).

Objectives. We evaluated the World Health Organization’s rapid assessment and response (RAR) method of assessing injection drug use and its associated health problems, focusing on knowledge gain, capacity building, and whether RAR leads to the development of interventions reducing the health effects of injection drug use.

Methods. Data were derived from RAR studies conducted in Beijing, China; Bogotá, Colombia; Greater Rosario, Argentina; Hanoi, Vietnam; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Minsk, Belarus; Nairobi, Kenya; Penang, Malaysia; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tehran, Iran.

Results. Substantial gains in knowledge and response capacity were reported at all of the study sites. Before RAR initiation, prevention and intervention programs had been absent or inadequate at most of the sites. The RARs resulted in many new or modified interventions; 7 sites reported 24 health-related interventions that were subsequently developed and influenced by the RARs.

Conclusions. RARs, which require relatively little external funding, appear to be effective in linking assessment to development of appropriate interventions. The present results add to the evidence that rapid assessment is an important public health tool.

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