Kathy Li

• University of British Columbia

Objective: Concurrent mental and substance use disorders or dual diagnosis are highly prevalent among individuals experiencing homelessness. Studies have indicated that dual diagnosis leads to poorer health outcomes and higher health service utilization among those affected. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of dual diagnoses among homeles...

This study investigates 500 homeless adults and the associations between childhood maltreatment types and the age of first reported homelessness episode. Those first experiencing homelessness in youth (age 24 years or younger; 46%) were compared with those first experiencing homelessness at a later age (older than age 24 years). In individual model...

It is well known that homeless individuals are at risk for a variety of health problems, including sexually transmissible infections. Optimisation of health services for the homeless requires knowledge of their sexual health. The sexual health and sexual vulnerability factors of 500 homeless adults (196 women) were assessed in a cross-sectional sur...

This study examined religious behaviors in 380 homeless individuals. We hypothesized that higher frequency of religious attendance is associated with lower rates of use of all substances, lower rates of drug and alcohol dependence, and lower psychological distress. Individuals attending religious ceremonies at least weekly ("frequent attendees") we...

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent in homeless populations, and rates are typically greater among males. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common co-occurring condition among individuals with SUDs; however, little attention has been directed to examining this comorbidity in homeless populations. Although some studies indica...

Patients with addictions and concurrent disorders constitute the most underserved population in the system of care. There are numerous reasons why this population has so much difficulty accessing services, including behavioural issues, criminal engagement, and non-compliance with outpatient services. To improve services to this population which is...

The paper allows a better understanding of the role of childhood maltreatment among patients with severe opiate addiction and explores its association with current psychological distress. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on a purposive sample (n = 87) of adult intravenous opiate users participating in the North American Opiate Medication In...

Objective: To determine the standardized rates of mental disorder, health service use and barriers to care in a representatively diverse sample of homeless adults in three different sized urban centers in British Columbia, Canada. Method: Five hundred homeless adults from Vancouver, Victoria and Prince George were recruited. The MINI-Internation...

This study explored self-reports of five childhood maltreatment (CM) subtypes and their associations with current suicide risk in a sample of 500 homeless persons. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Individual, unique, and cumulative associations of CM subtypes and subtyp...

The Cedar Project is a community-based study aiming to identify variables associated with ever being on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) among young Aboriginal people using drugs and to discuss possible barriers to MMT in this population. This is a prospective cohort study with recruitment by health-care providers, outreach, and word of mouth...

To assess prevalence rates of tobacco use and dependence in a sample of homeless individuals and to investigate trends for demographic and clinical characteristics across different levels of nicotine dependence (nonsmokers vs. lowly dependent smokers vs. highly dependent smokers). A cross-sectional study of 489 homeless men and women in 3 Canadian...

To examine lifetime and current prevalence rates of substance use disorders and the demographic and clinical correlates of current drug dependence in a sample of homeless women. A cross-sectional study of 196 homeless women in three Canadian cities was done. Each subject was assessed using structured clinical interviews. A multivariate regression m...

We assessed the effects of syringe exchange program (SEP) policy on rates of HIV risk behavior and HIV incidence among injection drug users. Using a multivariate generalized estimating equation and Cox regression methods, we examined syringe borrowing, syringe lending, and HIV incidence among a prospective cohort of 1228 injection drug users in Van...

We sought to identify factors associated with harmful microinjecting practices in a longitudinal cohort of IDU. Using data from the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS) between January 2004 and December 2005, generalized estimating equations (GEE) logistic regression was performed to examine sociodemographic and behavioral factors associate...

Crack cocaine use among illicit drug users is associated with a range of health and community harms. However, long-term epidemiological data documenting patterns and risk factors for crack use initiation remain limited especially among injection drug users. We investigated longitudinal patterns of crack cocaine use among polydrug users in Vancouver...

One of the most substantial costs of drug use is lost productivity and social functioning, including holding of a regular job. However, little is known about employment patterns of injection drug users (IDU). We sought to identify factors that were associated with legal employment among IDU. We describe the employment patterns of participants of a...

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 coh...

Commercial sex workers (CSW) are often portrayed as vectors of disease transmission. However, the role clients play in sexual risk taking and related decision making has not been thoroughly characterised. Participants were drawn from the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study, a longitudinal cohort. Analyses were restricted to those who reported sell...

To examine whether there were differential rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence in injecting drug-using youths who did and did not report involvement in survival sex work. Data were derived from 2 prospective cohort studies of injecting drug users (May 1, 1996, to July 31, 2007). Analyses were restricted to HCV antibody-negative youths who co...

Little is known about the possible role that smoking crack cocaine has on the incidence of HIV infection. Given the increasing use of crack cocaine, we sought to examine whether use of this illicit drug has become a risk factor for HIV infection. We included data from people participating in the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study who reported inj...

There has emerged growing recognition of the link between housing and health. Since Vancouver, Canada has had increasing concerns with homelessness brought about by urban renewal in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, we evaluated hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence among injection drug users (IDU) with and without stable housing. Data were...

The study examined whether North America's first medically supervised safer injection facility (SIF) attracts young injection drug users (IDUs) who are at high risk of health-related harm. Prevalence of SIF use was determined based on data obtained after the SIF's opening. Predictors of initiating future SIF use were determined based on behavioral...

Background: Canada's prostitution laws are under scrutiny, and there has been growing debate about the optimal strategies for reducing the harms associated with prostitution. Methods: We evaluated whether sex trade involvement was associated with elevated HIV incidence in a cohort of injection drug users. HIV incidence rates were calculated using K...

While incarceration has consistently been associated with a higher risk of HIV infection for individuals who use injection drugs (IDU), the effect of incarceration on the post-release risk environment remains poorly described. We sought to assess the impact of incarceration on risk factors for HIV infection after release from prison in a sample of...

To examine the relation between plasma HIV-1 RNA concentrations in the community and HIV incidence among injecting drug users. Prospective cohort study. Inner city community in Vancouver, Canada. Injecting drug users, with and without HIV, followed up every six months between 1 May 1996 and 30 June 2007. Estimated community plasma HIV-1 RNA in the...

Drug law enforcement remains the dominant response to drug-related harm. However, the impact of incarceration on deterring drug use remains under-evaluated. We sought to explore the relationship between incarceration and patterns of drug use among people who inject drugs (IDU). Using generalized estimating equations (GEE), we examined the prevalenc...

This study investigated a possible association between violence and the use of drugs, particularly methamphetamine and alcohol. Cross-sectional, baseline data were derived from the At-Risk Youth Study, a prospective cohort of street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada. Subjects were asked whether they had suffered or perpetrated violence in the 6 m...

Aboriginal people experience a disproportionate burden of HIV infection among the adult population in Canada; however, less is known regarding the prevalence and characteristics of HIV positivity among drug-using and street-involved Aboriginal youth. We examined HIV seroprevalence and risk factors among a cohort of 529 street-involved youth in Vanc...

A number of options for treatment are available to young drug users, but little is known about the youth who actually attempt to access such services. Here we identify characteristics of a cohort of street-involved youth and highlight commonly encountered barriers. From September 2005 to July 2007, data were collected from the At-Risk Youth Study (...

To investigate the incidence and correlates of cocaine injection initiation and the impacts of daily cocaine injection among a cohort of injection drug users. Among 1603 participants, from May 1996 to December 2005, risk factors for initiation of cocaine injection among baseline heroin users were determined by Cox proportional hazards regression an...

We sought to determine factors associated with migration among injection drug users in Vancouver, Canada. We examined migration patterns among participants in the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study. All participants were residents of Vancouver at the time of recruitment. Correlates of migration, defined as living outside of Greater Vancouver betw...

Drug market policing has been associated with various harms among injection drug users (IDU). However, little is known about instances in which drugs and injecting equipment are confiscated from IDU in the absence of a formal arrest. We examined factors associated with being stopped, searched, or detained by police among participants in the Vancouv...

So-called "balanced" drug policy couples enforcement initiatives targeting drug dealers with health-focused interventions serving addicted individuals. There are few evaluations of this approach, and little is known about how these two populations may overlap. We evaluated factors associated with drug dealing among injection drug users (IDUs) in Va...

Jugular injection of drugs has been reported, although little is known about the prevalence of and risk factors associated with this behaviour. We evaluated factors associated with jugular injection among a cohort of injection drug users (IDU) in Vancouver, Canada. We used univariate statistics and logistic regression to examine factors associated...

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been shown to dramatically reduce illicit opioid use and criminal activity among injection drug users (IDU). However, questions remain concerning the effect of MMT in reducing rates of incarceration among IDU. We therefore sought to investigate the long-term effect of MMT on rates of incarceration. We perfo...

Recent policy announcements in Canada and the United States may potentially affect the risk environment for HIV transmission among incarcerated injection drug users (IDU). We sought to evaluate the potential impact of incarceration on HIV risk behaviour among the IDU enrolled in a prospective cohort study. We examined patterns of incarceration amon...

Although dramatically heightened rates of violence have been observed among injection drug users (IDU), little is known about the gender differences associated with violence among this population. Employing a risk environment framework, we performed an analysis of the factors associated with experiencing violence among participants enrolled in a pr...

To determine whether migration impacted on drug use and HIV-related risk behaviors among injection drug users (IDU), we identified participants in a prospective cohort of IDU (Vancouver Injection Drug User Study) who had reported migrating out of Greater Vancouver between May 1996 and November 2005. We compared risk behaviors before and after a mov...

We sought to examine whether there were differential rates of HIV incidence among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal injection drug users in a Canadian setting. Data were derived from 2 prospective cohort studies of injection drug users in Vancouver, British Columbia. Using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression, we compared HIV...

Street-involved youth have been shown to be involved in the street-level illicit drug trade in a number of jurisdictions, though little is known about risk factors and sequelae of this behavior. The present study was therefore conducted to investigate factors associated with the street-level drug trade involvement among street-based youth. We used...

To evaluate the prevalence and correlates of non-fatal overdose among a polysubstance-using cohort of injection drug users (IDU) in Vancouver. We evaluated factors associated with non-fatal overdose among participants enrolled in the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS) using univariate statistics. Self-reports of the awareness of drugs tak...

Injection drug users (IDU) commonly generate income through prohibited activities, such as drug dealing and sex trade work, which carry significant risk. However, little is known about the IDU who engage in such activities and the role of active drug use in perpetuating this behavior. We evaluated factors associated with prohibited income generatio...

Despite efforts to scale up HIV prevention services for drug users, high rates of HIV risk behavior persist among some subpopulations. Given that few prospective studies have considered the relationship between sexual activity and syringe sharing, we sought to evaluate syringe sharing among male injection drug users (IDUs) who have sex with men (MS...

Studies have found that young injection drug users (IDUs) may be at elevated risk for blood-borne infection transmission, however few studies have evaluated risk longitudinally. We compared variables between younger (>or= 29 years) and older (<or= 30 years) IDUs in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada between 1996 and 2006. Of 1598 participants, 582...

Previous studies have shown elevated rates of health-related harms among Aboriginal people who use injection drugs such as heroin. Methadone maintenance therapy is one of the most effective interventions to address the harms of heroin injection. We assessed the rate of methadone use in a cohort of opioid injection drug users in Vancouver and invest...

This study was undertaken to investigate geographic residence in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES), Canada's poorest urban neighborhood, as an environmental risk factor for HIV infection among a cohort of injection drug users. HIV incidence rates were examined using Kaplan-Meier methods, and Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determ...

There is a growing concern surrounding crystal methamphetamine use in Canada despite surprisingly little empirical data to support such claims. We evaluated the trends in crystal methamphetamine injection and factors associated with injection of the drug among a cohort of injection drug users (IDU) in Vancouver. We conducted a prospective analysis...

Injection drug users (IDUs) are vulnerable to serious health complications resulting from unsafe injection practices. We examined whether the use of a supervised safer injection facility (SIF) promoted change in injecting practices among a representative sample of 760 IDUs who use a SIF in Vancouver, Canada. Consistent SIF use was compared with inc...

Non-fatal overdose is a major determinant of morbidity among injection drug users (IDU). We sought to evaluate factors associated with non-fatal overdose among IDU in Vancouver. We examined non-fatal overdose among participants in the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study. Correlates of non-fatal overdose occurring between 1996 and 2004 were identif...

Opposition to needle exchange programs has been fueled by a Vancouver study showing an association between frequent program use and elevated rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among injection drug users. We evaluated possible explanations for the observed association between elevated HIV rates and frequent needle exchange attenda...

Young injection drug users (IDUs) may be at increased risk of premature mortality due to the health risks associated with injection drug use including overdoses and infections. However, there has been little research conducted on mortality causes, rates and associations among this population. We undertook this study to investigate patterns of prema...

Access to cervical cancer screening may be lower among lower income and socially disadvantaged populations. However, few studies have specifically examined factors associated with cervical cancer screening among socially marginalized populations, especially in settings with free health care systems. The present study was conducted to examine the pr...

Previous studies have largely attributed the Australian heroin shortage to increases in local law enforcement efforts. Because western Canada receives heroin from similar source nations, but has not measurably increased enforcement practices or funding levels, we sought to examine trends in Canadian heroin-related indices before and after the Austr...

This study explores factors associated with early adolescent (aged < or = 16 years) initiation into injection drug use among young (< or = 29 years) injection drug users (IDUs). Data were collected through the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS). Since 1996, 542 participants aged 29 years and younger have been enrolled and followed. In tot...

We sought to examine the relationship between housing status and risk of HIV-infection among injection drug users in Vancouver, Canada. Using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, we found an elevated HIV incidence rate among those who reported residing in unstable housing (log-rank p=0.006). In Cox's regression survival analysis, unstable housing remain...

Assisted injection is a common practice among injection drug users (IDU) that carries significant risk for health-related harm. However, little is known about the individuals who provide assistance with injections. We evaluated factors associated with providing help injecting among participants enrolled in the Vancouver Injection Drug User Study (V...

Recent reports have suggested that Aboriginal and American Indian people are at elevated risk of HIV infection. We undertook the present study to compare socio-demographic and risk variables between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal young (aged 13 - 24 years) injection drug users (IDUs) and characterize the burden of HIV infection among young Aborigina...

We performed analyses of syringe buying and syringe selling among Vancouver injection drug users, recruited from May 1996 and followed up between November 2002 and August 2003, in the context of one of North America's largest syringe exchange programs (SEPs). An interviewer-administered questionnaire, approximately 45 minutes in duration, was used...

Illicit use of injected drugs is linked with high rates of HIV infection and fatal overdose, as well as community concerns about public drug use. Supervised injecting facilities have been proposed as a potential solution, but fears have been raised that they might encourage drug use. A before and after study. Participants and setting 871 injecting...

Several studies have highlighted risk factors that cause HIV vulnerability among injection drug users (IDUs); these studies in turn have prompted public health officials to take action to minimize these risks. We sought to evaluate the potential association between binge drug use and HIV seroconversion and, subsequently, risk factors associated wit...

The identification of individuals at highest risk of HIV infection is critical for targeting prevention strategies. We evaluated the HIV status of the sex partners of injection drug users (IDUs) and rates of subsequent HIV seroconversion among a prospective cohort study of IDUs. We performed an analysis of the time to HIV infection among baseline H...

Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) has been increasingly implemented as the treatment of choice for opiate-addicted individuals and has been associated with reduced harm related to opiate addiction. Barriers to MMT uptake still exist, however, and many opiate-addicted individuals do not access this form of treatment. We examined barriers to and fa...

We identified methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) use during follow-up interviews and examined associations between MMT use and socio-demographic and drug-related variables using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Of the 1587 participants recruited into this cohort, 170 (11%) were enrolled in MMT at baseline and additional 498 (31%) initiated...

Recent studies have indicated that injection-related infections such as abscesses and cellulitis account for the majority of emergency room visits and acute hospitalizations accrued by local injection drug users. The objective of this analysis was to examine the prevalence and correlates of developing an abscess among a cohort of injection drug use...

Randomized controlled trials of prescription heroin have shown success in reducing drug-related harm among chronic opiate injection drug users (IDUs) in several European nations. We sought to explore willingness to participate in a heroin trial among a well-characterized North American cohort of IDUs, and therefore performed analyses of factors ass...

Requiring help injecting has been associated with syringe sharing among injection drug users (IDUs). No prospective study has fully examined this risk factor and its relation to rates of HIV infection. We investigated whether requiring help injecting illicit drugs was a predictor of HIV infection among a prospective cohort of IDUs. The Vancouver In...

In Western Europe and elsewhere, medically supervised safer injection facilities (SIFs) are increasingly being implemented for the prevention of health- and community-related harms among injection drug users (IDUs), although few evaluations have been conducted, and there have been questions regarding SIFs' ability to attract high-risk IDUs. We exam...

While several studies have reported on sexual risk behaviours and the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among injection drug users (IDUs), there are fewer prospective studies that have been able to examine populations of IDUs with no history of STIs. Therefore, the authors examined prevalence, correlates and factors associated wi...

Safer injection facilities provide medical supervision for illicit drug injections. We aimed to examine factors associated with syringe sharing in a community-recruited cohort of illicit injection drug users in a setting where such a facility had recently opened. Between Dec 1, 2003, and June 1, 2004, of 431 active injection drug users 49 (11.4%, 9...

Many cities are experiencing infectious disease epidemics and substantial community harms as a result of illicit drug use. Although medically supervised smoking facilities (SSFs) remain untested in North America, local health officials in Vancouver are considering to prepare a submission to Health Canada for an exemption to open Canada's first SSF...

Few prospective studies are available on the relationship between incarceration and HIV risk among injection drug users (IDUs). The authors evaluated self-reported rates of syringe sharing and incarceration among a cohort of IDUs. This study analyzed syringe lending by HIV-infected IDUs and syringe borrowing by HIV-negative IDUs among participants...

Vancouver's explosive HIV epidemic among injection drug users (IDUs) has received international attention due to the presence of a large needle exchange program. The role of addiction treatment has not been evaluated in this setting. We evaluated factors associated with use of addiction treatment among a prospective cohort of Vancouver IDUs. Addict...

This paper is a call to action. We present Kaplan Meier cumulative HIV and HCV incidence rates among youth aged < or = 24 participating in the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS), and demonstrate the alarming increase in HIV and HCV incidence rates in addicted youth. The incidence rates among VIDUS youth were 11.1% for HIV and 52.1% for HC...

Objective: To model the potential health and economic impact of implementing a Medical Heroin Prescription Program (MHPP). Methods: We modeled the potential impact of a MHPP over a 5-year period. Participants were eligible if they had injected illicit drugs for greater than 5 years, injected heroin at least daily, resided in Greater Vancouver, and...

North America's first medically supervised safer injecting facility for illicit injection drug users was opened in Vancouver on Sept. 22, 2003. Although similar facilities exist in a number of European cities and in Sydney, Australia, no standardized evaluations of their impact have been presented in the scientific literature. Using a standardized...

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection among young (aged 29 years or younger) injection drug users (IDUs) and to compare sociodemographic and risk characteristics between (HIV/HCV) coinfected, monoinfected, or HIV- and HCV-negative youth. Data were collected through the...

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection among young (aged 29 years or younger) injection drug users (IDUs) and to compare sociodemographic and risk characteristics between (HIV/HCV) coinfected, monoinfected, or HIV- and HCV-negative youth. Data were collected through the...

It was recently found that 94% of the nearly $500 million allocated annually to Canada's illicit drug strategy has been spent on enforcement-based interventions. As a result, lack of funds for addiction treatment has meant demand for substance abuse treatment among illicit drug users has exceeded availability. This study evaluated whether injection...

Law enforcement is often used in an effort to reduce the social, community and health-related harms of illicit drug use by injection drug users (IDUs). There are, however, few data on the benefits of such enforcement or on the potential harms. A large-scale police "crackdown" to control illicit drug use in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside provided us...

We conducted this study among HIV-infected injection drug users to determine the effect of self-reported alcohol use and prior incarceration at the time of initiating antiretroviral therapy on subsequent HIV-1 RNA suppression. We examined the demographics, recent incarceration history, and drug and alcohol use history from the Vancouver Injection D...

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with, sexual violence in childhood, adolescence and adulthood, among injection drug using men and women. The Vancouver Injection Drug User Study is a prospective cohort of injection drug users (IDU) begun in 1996. The analysis included all individuals who complet...

The explosive and ongoing injecting drug use-related HIV-1 epidemic in Vancouver continues to receive international attention. This study was conducted to determine how patterns of cocaine use influence the risk of HIV infection. The Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study is an open prospective cohort of injecting drug users that began in May 1996. A...

Although medically supervised safer injecting facilities (SIFs) remain untested in North America, their implementation is currently being debated. Reluctance of health policy makers to initiate a pilot study of SIFs may in part be hindered by outstanding questions regarding the potential community and public health impact of the intervention. Speci...

More than 93% of the nearly $500 million spent annually on Canada's drug strategy goes toward efforts to reduce the illicit drug supply. However, little is known about the effectiveness of this strategy. On Sept. 2, 2000, Canadian police seized approximately 100 kg of heroin in one of the nation's largest-ever seizures of this drug. An ongoing pros...

Background: More than 93% of the nearly $500 million spent annually on Canada's drug strategy goes toward efforts to reduce the illicit drug supply. However, little is known about the effectiveness of this strategy. On Sept. 2, 2000, Canadian police seized approximately 100 kg of heroin in one of the nation's largest-ever seizures of this drug. An...

Because of established links between entrenched poverty and risk of HIV infection, there have long been warnings that HIV/AIDS will disproportionately affect Aboriginal people in Canada. We compared HIV incidence rates among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal injection drug users (IDUs) in Vancouver and studied factors associated with HIV seroconversion...

The objective of this study was to compare sociodemographic, drug, and sexual risk characteristics between hepatitis C virus (HCV) baseline positive and negative young (13-24 years) injection drug users (IDUs) and to determine prospective risk factors for HCV seroconversion among the youth. Data were collected through the Vancouver Injection Drug U...

To compare sociodemographic, drug-related, and sexual risk variables between young (13-24 years of age) and older (> or =25 years of age) injection drug users (IDUs); and to determine HIV prevalence and associated risk factors for HIV infection among young IDUs. Data were collected through the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS). To date,...

Needle-exchange programs (NEPs) have been shown to be effective in reducing harm related to injection drug use and to act as an important link between the injection drug using community and preventive/treatment services. Different needle-exchange distribution methods may reach different subpopulations of injecting drug users (IDUs). We undertook th...

During the mid to late 1990s, Vancouver, Canada experienced a rapid injection drug use-related HIV epidemic, despite the presence of a well-established, high-volume, needle exchange program (NEP). The NEP presently exchanges needles through several fixed sites, the largest of which operates in the city's Downtown Eastside where injection drug users...

In 1997, we found a higher prevalence of HIV among female than among male injection drug users in Vancouver. Factors associated with HIV incidence among women in this setting were unknown. In the present study, we sought to compare HIV incidence rates among male and female injection drug users in Vancouver and to compare factors associated with HIV...

Vancouver has experienced an explosive HIV epidemic despite the presence of a needle exchange programme (NEP). We sought possible explanations for high-risk syringe sharing among Vancouver injection drug users over the period January 1999 to October 2000. Overall, 14% of participants reported high-risk sharing. Although acquiring needles exclusivel...

Youth are important with respect to HIV/AIDS, not only because they are at risk of infection, but it is during this period that many behaviour patterns are established that will affect their risk of infection in later life. We undertook this study to determine the rates of HIV incidence and associated risk factors among young injection drug users.

In several European countries safer injecting rooms have reduced the public disorder and health-related problems of injection drug use. We explored factors associated with needle-sharing practices that could potentially be alleviated by the availability of safer injecting rooms in Canada. The Vancouver Injection Drug User Study is a prospective coh...