Table I.
Individual and Network Characteristics of 64 Women who Inject Drugs in Philadelphia Pennsylvania (2020)
| N | (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual-level (N=64) | ||
| Female gender identity | 63 | 98.44 |
| Hispanic/Latinx | 16 | 25.00 |
| Race | ||
| White | 50 | 78.13 |
| Black/African American | 3 | 4.69 |
| Other1 | 11 | 17.19 |
| Sexual orientation | ||
| Straight | 46 | 71.9 |
| Bisexual | 15 | 23.4 |
| Lesbian/gay/pansexual | 3 | 4.69 |
| High school education / GED or greater | 24 | 37.50 |
| Living situation (past 6 months)2 | ||
| Stable housing (house or apartment, including rental) | 22 | 34.38 |
| Transitional housing (i.e., halfway housing, group home, jail, shelter) | 11 | 17.19 |
| Live on the street (including car) | 44 | 48.28 |
| Homeless at any point during the past 6 months (i.e., were living on the street, in a car, park, abandoned building, tent, campsite, or squatting) | 53 | 82.81 |
| Employment (past 6 months)2 | ||
| Full/part-time | 4 | 6.25 |
| Unemployed | 43 | 67.19 |
| Unable to work | 18 | 28.13 |
| Other (furloughed/self-employed) | 2 | 3.13 |
| Average monthly income (past 6 months) | ||
| No income | 15 | 23.44 |
| Less than or equal to $500 a month | 25 | 39.06 |
| Greater than $500 and less than $1,500 | 14 | 21.88 |
| Greater than $1,500 and less than $2,500 | 8 | 12.50 |
| Greater than $4,000 and less than $5,000 | 2 | 3.13 |
| Any source of illegal income (past 6 months) | 48 | 75.00 |
| Selling drugs | 37 | 57.81 |
| Sex work | 26 | 40.63 |
| Boosting | 10 | 15.63 |
| Selling syringes | 9 | 14.06 |
| Other (looting, fighting, lookout, panhandling) | 4 | 6.25 |
| Monthly income (past 6 months) is___3 | ||
| Not enough to make ends meet | 44 | 69.84 |
| Just enough to make ends meet | 13 | 20.63 |
| Some money left over | 6 | 9.52 |
| Any children under 18 years of age | 42 | 65.6 |
| Incarceration history | ||
| Jail (past 2 years) | 38 | 59.38 |
| Prison (past 2 years) | 7 | 10.94 |
| Ever tested positive for HIV | 7 | 11.11 |
| Ever tested positive for HCV | 51 | 79.69 |
| Drugs injected (past 6 months) | ||
| Cocaine | 32 | 50.00 |
| Heroin | 55 | 85.94 |
| Fentanyl | 59 | 92.19 |
| Prescription opioids | 4 | 6.25 |
| Synthetics | 1 | 1.56 |
| Methamphetamine | 29 | 45.31 |
| Ketamine | 4 | 6.25 |
| Tranquilizers | 14 | 21.88 |
| Ever overdosed | 47 | 73.44 |
| Engaged in sex exchange (past 6 months) | 28 | 43.75 |
| Only one injection partner (past 6 months) | 36 | 56.25 |
| Age, median (IQR) | 37 | (32 – 41.5) |
| Age at first injection, median (IQR) | 28 | (24 – 33) |
| Years injecting, median (IQR) | 6 | (3 – 15) |
| Number of times inject per day (past 6 months), median (IQR) | 8 | (5 – 10) |
| Number of injection partners (past 6 months), median (IQR) | 1 | (1 – 3) |
| Number of overdoses (past 6 months), median (IQR) | 0 | (0 – 1) |
| Number of overdoses witnessed (past 6 months), median (IQR) | 9.5 | (2.5 – 20) |
| Network-level Characteristics (N=123) | ||
| Network member demographics | ||
| Age, median (IQR) | 36 | (31-42) |
| Female | 47 | 38.21 |
| Hispanic/Latinx | 28 | 22.76 |
| Race | ||
| White | 79 | 64.23 |
| Black/African American | 15 | 12.20 |
| Other1 | 29 | 23.57 |
| Relationship characteristics | ||
| Relationship type2 | ||
| Romantic | 28 | 22.76 |
| Family | 6 | 4.88 |
| Friend | 70 | 56.91 |
| Associate | 22 | 17.89 |
| Interact with partner at least daily (past 6 months) | 82 | 66.67 |
| Share an injection setting at least daily (past 6 months) | 68 | 55.28 |
| Live together (past 6 months) | 69 | 56.10 |
| Injection partner provided financial support (past 6 months) | 46 | 37.40 |
| Emotional support (i.e., extremely likely to discuss personal/private matters with injection partner) (past 6 months) | 50 | 40.65 |
| Sex partner (past 6 months) | 28 | 22.76 |
| Injection partner helped her to inject drugs (past 6 months) | 49 | 39.84 |
| Share injection equipment with injection partner (past 6 months) | 69 | 56.10 |
| Relationship duration in months, median (IQR) | 24 | (12-72) |
| Risk perception | ||
| Individual perceives that injection partner is living with HIV4 | 10 | 8.20 |
| Individual perceives that injection partner is living with HCV4 | 82 | 67.21 |
| Individual perceives that injection partner shares syringes or injection equipment with others | ||
| No – neither syringes nor equipment | 49 | 39.84 |
| Yes – syringes | 0 | 0.00 |
| Yes - cookers/cotton | 12 | 9.76 |
| Yes – syringes and cookers/cotton | 20 | 16.26 |
| Don’t know | 42 | 34.15 |
1
Other includes Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, two or more races, other race, and don’t know
2
Numbers do not sum to 100% because multiple responses were permitted
3
N=63
4
N=122