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Assisted injection in outdoor venues : an observational study of risks and implications for service delivery and harm reduction programming Lloyd-Smith, Elisa; Rachlis, Beth Stephanie; Tobin, Diane; Stone, Dave; Li, Kathy; Small, Will; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas

Abstract

Background: Assisted injection and public injection have both been associated with a variety of individual harms including an increased risk of HIV infection. As a means of informing local IDU-driven interventions that target or seek to address assisted injection, we examined the correlates of receiving assistance with injecting in outdoor settings among a cohort of persons who inject drugs (IDU). Methods: Using data from the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS), an observational cohort study of IDU, generalized estimating equations (GEE) were performed to examine socio-demographic and behavioural factors associated with reports of receiving assistance with injecting in outdoor settings. Results: From January 2004 to December 2005, a total of 620 participants were eligible for the present analysis. Our study included 251 (40.5%) women and 203 (32.7%) self-identified Aboriginal participants. The proportion of participants who reported assisted injection outdoors ranged over time between 8% and 15%. Assisted injection outdoors was independently and positively associated with being female (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.74, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.21-2.50), daily cocaine injection (AOR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.29-2.24), and sex trade involvement (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.00-2.06) and was negatively associated with Aboriginal ethnicity (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41-0.82). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that a substantial proportion of local IDU engage in assisted injecting in outdoor settings and that the practice is associated with other markers of drug-related harm, including being female, daily cocaine injecting and sex trade involvement. These findings suggest that novel interventions are needed to address the needs of this subpopulation of IDU.

Item Metadata

Title
Assisted injection in outdoor venues : an observational study of risks and implications for service delivery and harm reduction programming
Creator
Lloyd-Smith, Elisa; Rachlis, Beth Stephanie; Tobin, Diane; Stone, Dave; Li, Kathy; Small, Will; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas
Contributor
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2010-03-19
Description
Background: Assisted injection and public injection have both been associated with a variety of individual harms including an increased risk of HIV infection. As a means of informing local IDU-driven interventions that target or seek to address assisted injection, we examined the correlates of receiving assistance with injecting in outdoor settings among a cohort of persons who inject drugs (IDU). Methods: Using data from the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS), an observational cohort study of IDU, generalized estimating equations (GEE) were performed to examine socio-demographic and behavioural factors associated with reports of receiving assistance with injecting in outdoor settings. Results: From January 2004 to December 2005, a total of 620 participants were eligible for the present analysis. Our study included 251 (40.5%) women and 203 (32.7%) self-identified Aboriginal participants. The proportion of participants who reported assisted injection outdoors ranged over time between 8% and 15%. Assisted injection outdoors was independently and positively associated with being female (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.74, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.21-2.50), daily cocaine injection (AOR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.29-2.24), and sex trade involvement (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.00-2.06) and was negatively associated with Aboriginal ethnicity (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41-0.82). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that a substantial proportion of local IDU engage in assisted injecting in outdoor settings and that the practice is associated with other markers of drug-related harm, including being female, daily cocaine injecting and sex trade involvement. These findings suggest that novel interventions are needed to address the needs of this subpopulation of IDU.
Geographic Location
Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.)
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2017-03-31
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0343435
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/61080
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC; Medicine, Department of
Citation
Lloyd-Smith, E., Rachlis, B. S., Tobin, D., Stone, D., Li, K., Small, W., … Kerr, T. (2010). Assisted injection in outdoor venues: an observational study of risks and implications for service delivery and harm reduction programming. Harm Reduction Journal, 7, 6.
Publisher DOI
10.1186/1477-7517-7-6
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Unknown
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International