Trainee cohort characteristics at baseline by assignment status
| Variable | Patrol (n=674) | Non-patrol (n=97) | Total (n=771) | P value |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 585 (86.8%) | 72 (74.2%) | 657 (85.2%) | 0.002 |
| Female | 89 (13.2%) | 25 (25.8%) | 114 (14.8%) | |
| Age, median (IQR) | 38 (33–43) | 39 (33–45) | 38 (33–43) | 0.103 |
| Education level completed | ||||
| <High school | 131 (19.4%) | 23 (23.7%) | 154 (20.0%) | 0.342 |
| ≥High school | 543 (80.6%) | 74 (76.3%) | 617 (80.0%) | |
| Married *1 | ||||
| Yes | 513 (79.7%) | 72 (77.4%) | 585 (79.4%) | 0.586 |
| No | 131 (20.3%) | 21 (22.6%) | 152 (20.6%) | |
| Rank | ||||
| District Chief/Deputy/Supervisor | 107 (15.9%) | 25 (25.8%) | 132 (17.1%) | 0.021 |
| Officer or Lower Rank | 567 (84.1%) | 72 (74.2%) | 639 (82.9%) | |
| Years of experience *2, Median (IQR) | 11.2 (8–18.2) | 11.1 (8–18.7) | 11.2 (8–18.2) | 0.559 |
| Current work district *3 | ||||
| Low drug use area | 443 (66.1%) | 78 (84.8%) | 521 (68.4%) | <0.001 |
| High drug use area | 227 (33.9%) | 14 (15.2%) | 241 (31.6%) | |
| Contact with needles or syringes | ||||
| Frequently | 245 (36.4%) | 10 (10.3%) | 255 (33.1%) | <0.001 |
| Sometimes | 429 (63.6%) | 86 (89.7%) | 515 (66.9%) | |
| Ever sustained an NSI *4 | ||||
| Yes | 106 (15.8%) | 13 (13.5%) | 119 (15.5%) | 0.653 |
| No | 567 (84.2%) | 83 (86.5%) | 650 (84.5%) | |
| STIC Score *5, median (IQR) | 2 (1.4–2.6) | 1 (1.0–2.0) | 2 (1.2–2.6) | <0.001 |
| Confiscated needles or syringes *6 | ||||
| All the time | 76 (11.3%) | 4 (4.2%) | 80 (10.4%) | <0.001 |
| Sometimes | 259 (38.5%) | 17 (17.7%) | 276 (35.9%) | |
| Rarely | 209 (31.1%) | 19 (19.8%) | 228 (29.7%) | |
| Never | 128 (19.0%) | 56 (58.3%) | 184 (24.0%) | |
| Transported syringes to the proper authorities *7 | ||||
| All the time | 42 (6.2%) | 3 (3.1%) | 45 (5.9%) | <0.001 |
| Sometimes | 142 (21.1%) | 7 (7.3%) | 149 (19.4%) | |
| Rarely | 155 (23.0%) | 16 (16.7%) | 171 (22.2%) | |
| Never | 334 (49.6%) | 70 (72.9%) | 404 (52.5%) | |
| Has broken a needle or syringe *8 | ||||
| All the time | 49 (7.3%) | 9 (9.4%) | 58 (7.5%) | <0.001 |
| Sometimes | 143 (21.2%) | 7 (7.3%) | 150 (19.5%) | |
| Rarely | 160 (23.8%) | 8 (8.3%) | 168 (21.8%) | |
| Never | 321 (47.7%) | 72 (75.0%) | 393 (51.1%) | |
| Has thrown syringes in the trash *9 | ||||
| All the time | 65 (9.7%) | 5 (5.2%) | 70 (9.1%) | <0.001 |
| Sometimes | 158 (23.5%) | 11 (11.5%) | 169 (22.0%) | |
| Rarely | 167 (24.9%) | 12 (12.5%) | 179 (23.3%) | |
| Never | 282 (42.0%) | 68 (70.8%) | 350 (45.6%) | |
| Has arrested someone for syringe possession *10 | ||||
| All the time | 67 (10.0%) | 2 (2.1%) | 69 (9.0%) | <0.001 |
| Sometimes | 226 (33.6%) | 13 (13.5%) | 239 (31.1%) | |
| Rarely | 175 (26.0%) | 9 (9.4%) | 184 (24.0%) | |
| Never | 204 (30.4%) | 72 (75.0%) | 276 (35.9%) | |
| Frequency of physical altercations with drug users *11 | ||||
| All the time/sometimes | 304 (45.4%) | 19 (19.8%) | 323 (42.2%) | <0.001 |
| Rarely/never | 366 (54.6%) | 77 (80.2%) | 443 (57.8%) | |
| Knowledge of HIV and hepatitis C transmission/prevention, median (IQR) | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) | 0.833 |
| Occupational NSI Knowledge, median (IQR) | 2 (1–2) | 2 (1–2) | 2 (1–2) | 0.036 |
| Attitudes on syringe access, median (IQR) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.366 |
| Intended actions to prevent NSI, median (IQR) | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–4) | 4 (4–5) | 0.012 |
| Stigma toward PWID *12, median (IQR) | 4 (4–4) | 4 (4–4) | 4 (4–4) | 0.634 |
| Subjective norms of NSI prevention *13 | ||||
| Yes | 455 (67.7%) | 64 (67.4%) | 519 (67.7%) | 1.000 |
| No | 217 (32.3%) | 31 (32.6%) | 248 (32.3%) | |
| Supervisory support for NSI prevention | ||||
| Yes | 349 (51.8%) | 58 (59.8%) | 407 (52.8%) | 0.158 |
| No | 325 (48.2%) | 39 (40.2%) | 364 (47.2%) | |
| Supervisory support for NSI response *14 | ||||
| Yes | 372 (55.2%) | 53 (55.2%) | 425 (55.2%) | 1.000 |
| No | 302 (44.8%) | 43 (44.8%) | 345 (44.8%) | |
| Self-efficacy to prevent NSI *15 | ||||
| Median (IQR) | 8 (7–10) | 8 (7–10) | 8 (7–10) | 0.673 |
| Self-efficacy to respond to NSI *16 | ||||
| Yes | 451 (67.0%) | 62 (66.0%) | 513 (66.9%) | 0.907 |
| No | 222 (33.0%) | 32 (34.0%) | 254 (33.1%) |
*Missing observations (*1n=34; *2n=10; *3n=9; *4n=2; *5n=2; *6n=3; *7n=2; *8n=2; 91n=3; *10n=3; *11n=5; *12n=1; *13n=4; *14n=1; *15n=1;*16n=4).
NSI, needle stick injury; PWID, prevention among people who inject drugs; STIC, syringe threat and injury correlates.