Table 1.
Most recent characteristics of VIDUS/ACCESS/ARYS participants who reported at least daily use of drugs in the past 6 months in Vancouver, Canada, 2019–2021 (n = 995)
| Characteristic | Total n (%) 995 (100%) |
Reporting police seizure of drugs without arresta during the study period | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes n (%) 63 (6.3%) |
No n (%) 932 (93.7%) |
|||
| Cohort designation | ||||
| VIDUS | 437 (43.9%) | 35 (55.6%) | 402 (43.1%) | 0.105 |
| ACCESS | 271 (27.2%) | 11 (17.5%) | 260 (27.9%) | |
| ARYS | 287 (28.8%) | 17 (27.0%) | 270 (29.0%) | |
| Calendar year of interview | ||||
| 2021 | 522 (52.5%) | 23 (36.5%) | 499 (53.5%) | 0.009 |
| 2019–2020 | 473 (47.5%) | 40 (63.5%) | 433 (46.5%) | |
| Age (median, 1st, and 3rd quartiles) | 41 (31–54) | 36 (31–42) | 42 (31–55) | 0.001 |
| Self-identified ethnicity/ancestry | ||||
| Indigenous | 382 (38.9%) | 17 (27.0%) | 365 (39.8%) | 0.051 |
| Person of colour | 59 (6.0%) | 7 (11.1%) | 52 (5.7%) | |
| White | 540 (55.1%) | 39 (61.9%) | 501 (54.6%) | |
| Self-identified gendera | ||||
| Woman, transgender, other | 407 (40.9%) | 19 (30.2%) | 388 (41.6%) | 0.073 |
| Man | 588 (59.1%) | 44 (69.8%) | 544 (58.4%) | |
| ≥ Daily unregulated opioids usea,b | 580 (58.3%) | 50 (79.4%) | 530 (56.9%) | 0.001 |
| ≥ Daily unregulated stimulants usea,c | 543 (54.6%) | 45 (71.4%) | 498 (53.4%) | 0.006 |
| ≥ Daily cannabis usea | 360 (36.8%) | 14 (23.0%) | 346 (37.7%) | 0.021 |
| Opioid withdrawala | 498 (50.3%) | 45 (71.4%) | 453 (48.8%) | 0.001 |
| Always/usually injected drugs in public placesa | 90 (9.1%) | 14 (22.6%) | 76 (8.2%) | < 0.001 |
| Non-fatal overdosea | 189 (19.0%) | 19 (30.2%) | 170 (18.3%) | 0.020 |
| Administered naloxone to someonea | 283 (29.5%) | 32 (53.3%) | 251 (27.9%) | < 0.001 |
| Homelessa | 219 (22.1%) | 28 (45.2%) | 191 (20.6%) | < 0.001 |
| Sex worka | 121 (12.3%) | 11 (17.5%) | 110 (11.9%) | 0.197 |
| Working in the unregulated drug marketa | 268 (26.9%) | 40 (63.5%) | 228 (24.5%) | < 0.001 |
| Street-based income generation (e.g. recycling and panhandling)a | 265 (26.6%) | 23 (36.5%) | 242 (26.0%) | 0.067 |
| Incarcerationa | 73 (7.4%) | 24 (38.1%) | 49 (5.3%) | < 0.001 |
| Inability to access health and/or social servicesa | 245 (24.8%) | 24 (38.1%) | 221 (23.9%) | 0.012 |
ACCESS: The AIDS Care Cohort to evaluate Exposure to Survival Services Study. ARYS: The At-Risk Youth Study. VIDUS: The Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study
For the calculation of percentages, missing observations (max. 2.1% per variable) were excluded from the denominators
P-values were derived from the Pearson’s Chi-squared test for all variables except for age, which used the Wilcoxon rank-sum test
aRefers to behaviours and events in the 6 months prior to an interview
bUnregulated opioids include heroin, fentanyl, down, speedball, or goofball
cUnregulated stimulants include crystal methamphetamine, powder/crack cocaine, speedball, or goofball