High prevalence of unmet healthcare need among people who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting with publicly-funded interdisciplinary primary care clinics.

Background: People who use illicit drugs (PWUD) experience significant barriers to healthcare. However, little is known about levels of attachment to primary care (defined as having a regular family doctor or clinic they feel comfortable with) and its association with unmet healthcare needs in this population. In a Canadian setting that features novel publicly-funded interdisciplinary primary care clinics, we sought to examine the prevalence and correlates (including attachment to primary care) of unmet healthcare needs among PWUD. Methods: Data were derived from two prospective cohort studies of PWUD in Vancouver, Canada between December 2017 and November 2018. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with self-reported unmet healthcare needs among participants reporting any health issues. Results: In total, 743 (83.6%) of 889 eligible participants reported attachment to primary care and 220 (24.7%) reported an unmet healthcare need. In multivariable analyses, attachment to primary care at an integrated care clinic (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.14; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.06-0.34) was negatively associated with an unmet healthcare need, while being treated poorly at a healthcare facility (AOR = 5.50; 95% CI: 3.59-8.60) and self-reported chronic pain (AOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.30-3.01) were positively associated with an unmet healthcare need. Conclusion: Despite the high level of attachment to primary care, a quarter of our sample reported an unmet healthcare need. Our findings suggest that multi-level interventions are required to address the unmet need, including pain management and integrated care, to support PWUD with complex health needs.

The perspectives of structurally vulnerable people who use drugs on volunteer stipends and work experiences provided through a drug user organization: Opportunities and limitations.

BACKGROUND: While drug user organizations (DUO) have received public health attention as a means to potentially reduce the harms associated with drug use, there is a lack of research on the compensation and structural forces that promote or inhibit participation in DUO. Against the backdrop of structural vulnerability experienced by people who use drugs (PWUD), we examined the impact of monetary 'volunteer stipends' provided through a DUO and explore their role in providing low-threshold employment opportunities and shaping participation in DUO. METHODS: Participants were purposively sampled to reflect a range of perspectives and experiences volunteering at Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and receiving stipends. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 members of VANDU. Interview transcripts were coded in Atlas.ti 7 for key a priori themes and emergent categories from the data and analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Stipends provided participants with symbolic and material recognition of the time, effort, and expertise they contribute to the organization, and functioned to facilitate ongoing participation. Payments that rewarded, skills, labour and drug-related knowledge reduced participant's perception of stigma against PWUD. Paid work in VANDU further provided participants with non-material benefits commonly attributed to regular employment, including social connections and a sense of purpose. Participants also identified the low level of pay as a limitation of VANDU's paid participation program. The daily demands of survival (accessing shelter, food, and drugs) posed more complex structural vulnerabilities to participate in VANDU, as small stipends were not sufficient to address these needs. CONCLUSION: Low threshold employment opportunities within DUO may provide significant individual and public health benefits. However, these benefits are constrained by the small size of stipends. Therefore, to ensure better inclusion of PWUD, our findings recommend the development and expansion of equitable, accessible, well-paying employment programs for PWUD.

Results of a participatory needs assessment demonstrate an opportunity to involve people who use alcohol in drug user activism and harm reduction.

BACKGROUND: Drug users' organizations have made progress in recent years in advocating for the health and human rights of people who use illicit drugs but have historically not emphasized the needs of people who drink alcohol. METHODS: This paper reports on a qualitative participatory needs assessment with people who use illicit substances in British Columbia, Canada. We held workshops in 17 communities; these were facilitated by people who use illicit drugs, recorded with ethnographic fieldnotes, and analyzed using critical theory. RESULTS: Although the workshops were targeted to people who use illicit drugs, people who primarily consume alcohol also attended. An unexpected finding was the potential for drug users' organizations and other harm reduction programs to involve "illicit drinkers": people who drink non-beverage alcohol (e.g. mouthwash, rubbing alcohol) and those who drink beverage alcohol in criminalized ways (e.g., homeless drinkers). Potential points of alliance between these groups are common priorities (specifically, improving treatment by health professionals and the police, expanding housing options, and implementing harm reduction services), common values (reducing surveillance and improving accountability of services), and polysubstance use. CONCLUSIONS: Despite these potential points of alliance, there has historically been limited involvement of illicit drinkers in drug users' activism. Possible barriers to involvement of illicit drinkers in drug users' organizations include racism (as discourses around alcohol use are highly racialized), horizontal violence, the extreme marginalization of illicit drinkers, and knowledge gaps around harm reduction for alcohol. Understanding the commonalities between people who use drugs and people who use alcohol, as well as the potential barriers to alliance between them, may facilitate the greater involvement of illicit drinkers in drug users' organizations and harm reduction services.

Injection drug use cessation and use of North America's first medically supervised safer injecting facility.

BACKGROUND: Vancouver, Canada has a pilot supervised injecting facility (SIF), where individuals can inject pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of medical staff. There has been concern that the program may facilitate ongoing drug use and delay entry into addiction treatment. METHODS: We used Cox regression to examine factors associated with the time to the cessation of injecting, for a minimum of 6 months, among a random sample of individuals recruited from within the Vancouver SIF. In further analyses, we evaluated the time to enrollment in addiction treatment. RESULTS: Between December 2003 and June 2006, 1090 participants were recruited. In Cox regression, factors independently associated with drug use cessation included use of methadone maintenance therapy (Adjusted Hazard Ratio [AHR] = 1.57 [95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.02-2.40]) and other addiction treatment (AHR = 1.85 [95% CI: 1.06-3.24]). In subsequent analyses, factors independently associated with the initiation of addiction treatment included: regular SIF use at baseline (AHR = 1.33 [95% CI: 1.04-1.72]); having contact with the addiction counselor within the SIF (AHR = 1.54 [95% CI: 1.13-2.08]); and Aboriginal ancestry (AHR = 0.66 [95% CI: 0.47-0.92]). CONCLUSIONS: While the role of addiction treatment in promoting injection cessation has been well described, these data indicate a potential role of SIF in promoting increased uptake of addiction treatment and subsequent injection cessation. The finding that Aboriginal persons were less likely to enroll in addiction treatment is consistent with prior reports and demonstrates the need for novel and culturally appropriate drug treatment approaches for this population.