Ti et al. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:189 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/189 Acknowledgements We would particularly like to thank the staff and volunteers at the Mitsampan Harm Reduction Centre for their support and Dr. Niyada Kiatying-Angsulee of the Social Pharmacy Research Unit, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, for her assistance with developing this project. We also thank Daniel Miles Kane, Deborah Graham, Tricia Collingham and Calvin Lai for their assistance with data management, and Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya and Puripakorn Pakdirat for their assistance with data collection. Funding for this study was provided by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Michael Smith Foundation had no further role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. Author details 1Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. 2British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. 3Interdisciplinary Studies Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. 4Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group, Bangkok, Thailand. 5Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. 6Urban Health Research Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada. Authors’ contributions LT and TK designed the study. EF conducted the statistical analyses. LT drafted the manuscript and incorporated all suggestions from all the co- authors. All authors made significant contributions to the conception of the analyses, interpretation of the data, and drafting of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 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