Table 1.
Baseline socio-demographic characteristics, substance use patterns and structural exposures of 557 women who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada, (2005–2012)
| Characteristic | WSW a
† 63 (11.31%) |
Non-WSW† 494 (88.69%) |
Odds Ratio (95% CIb) |
p - value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth (<22 years) | ||||
| Yes | 28 (44.4) | 111 (22.5) | 2.76 (1.61 – 4.74) | <0.001 |
| Aboriginal ancestry* | ||||
| Yes | 22 (34.9) | 200 (40.5) | 0.79 (0.46 – 1.37) | 0.396 |
| Homelessness† | ||||
| Yes | 46 (73.0) | 239 (48.4) | 2.89 (1.61 – 5.18) | <0.001 |
| High school education** | ||||
| Yes | 24 (38.1) | 185 (37.5) | 1.03 (0.60 – 1.76) | 0.920 |
| Heavy alcohol use†‡ | ||||
| Yes | 34 (54.0) | 182 (36.8) | 2.01 (1.19 – 3.41) | 0.010 |
| Any daily heroin† | ||||
| Yes | 17 (27.0) | 143 (29.0) | 0.91 (0.50 – 1.64) | 0.746 |
| Daily crack use† | ||||
| Yes | 27 (42.9) | 206 (41.7) | 1.05 (0.62 – 1.78) | 0.861 |
| Injection drug use† | ||||
| Yes | 32 (50.8) | 318 (64.4) | 0.57 (0.34 – 0.97) | 0.037 |
| Drug/alcohol treatment† | ||||
| Yes | 24 (38.1) | 214 (43.3) | 0.81 (0.47 – 1.38) | 0.431 |
| Barriers to treatment† | ||||
| Yes | 8 (12.7) | 38 (7.7) | 1.75 (0.78 – 3.93) | 0.179 |
| Sex work involvement† | ||||
| Yes | 19 (30.2) | 155 (31.4) | 0.94 (0.53 – 1.67) | 0.844 |
| Police harassment without arrest† | ||||
| Yes | 18 (28.6) | 126 (25.5) | 1.17 (0.65 – 2.09) | 0.601 |
| Incarceration† | ||||
| Yes | 9 (14.3) | 80 (16.2) | 0.86 (0.41 – 1.82) | 0.697 |
| Sexual violence† | ||||
| Yes | 14 (22.2) | 16 (3.2) | 8.54 (3.93 –18.53) | <0.001 |
a
WSW is defined as women who reported having sex with at least one woman,
b
CI = confidence
*
Aboriginal ancestry is defined as self-report of First Nations, Inuit or Métis ancestry,
†
In the last 6 months,
**
completion of high school education or higher vs. no completion of high school
‡
>4 drinks per day on average