Gender differences in hepatitis C antibody prevalence and risk behaviours amongst people who inject drugs in Australia 1998–2008

Iversen, Jenny; Wand, Handan; Gonnermann, Andrea; Maher, Lisa

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2010.04.004

Cited by 33 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, a greater proportion of females in our sample reported needle sharing compared to males, which is consistent with findings from studies on injectors of illicit drugs (Evans et al 2003; Frajzyngier et al 2007; Iversen et al 2010). Further, previous research has indicated that a lack of access to clean syringes is a primary factor for syringe sharing when using illicit drugs (Bailey et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Prescription Drug Misuse and Risk Behaviors Among Young Injection Drug Users

Johnson

Fibbi

Langer

et al. 2013

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Prescription drug misuse among young adults, especially opioids, is a substantial public health problem in the United States. Although risks associated with injection of illicit drugs are well established, injection and sexual risks associated with misuse of prescription drugs are under-studied. Forty young injection drug users aged 16 to 25 who reported injection of a prescription drug were recruited in 2008–09 in Los Angeles and New York City. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to illustrate risky injection and sexual behaviors reported in this sample. Over half of participants engaged in risky injection behavior, three-quarters engaged in risky sexual behavior, nearly half reported both risky behaviors, and five did not report either risk behavior while misusing a prescription drug. Prescription opioids, tranquilizers, and stimulants were misused in the context of risky sexual behaviors while only opioids were misused in the context of injection risk behaviors. Access to clean syringes, attitudes and beliefs regarding hepatitis C, and risk reduction through partner selection were identified as key themes that contextualized risk behaviors. Although these findings help identify areas to target educational campaigns, such as prevention of sexually transmitted infections, risk behaviors specifically associated with prescription drug misuse warrant further study.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Prescription Drug Misuse and Risk Behaviors Among Young Injection Drug Users

Johnson

Fibbi

Langer

et al. 2013

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…AAPI men reported more alcohol use, which was consistent with a previous study (Chatham et al, 1999). More AAPI female injectors reported daily injection, which was consistent with the findings of a study in the Australian setting (Iversen et al, 2010). However, different from that study, the present study found more women reported injection as their route of administration which may due to more women than men were recruited from methadone maintenance or residential programs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Women generally pursue substance use to alter feelings about relationships, while men prefer an independently pleasurable experience (Stevens et al, 2009). In term of injecting behaviors, women demonstrate a slower duration of injecting than their male counterparts, and more women than men report daily injection among short-term injectors (Iversen, Wand, Gonnermann, & Maher, 2010). Previous studies indicated that women are more likely to experience mood disorder and they need more responsive psychiatric services than men.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Comparisons Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Patients in Drug Dependency Treatment

Han

Lin

et al. 2016

Substance Use & Misuse

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Few studies have focused on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), despite indications of increasing substance abuse among AAPIs in recent years. Objectives This prospective longitudinal study examined gender differences among AAPIs in treatment. Methods The study included 567 (177 women, 390 men) AAPI patients drawn from two prior studies, one with 32 community treatment programs in 13 California counties (CalTOP, 3, 9months), and another project including 36 treatment sites in 5 California counties (TSI, 3, 12 months). Baseline and follow-up assessments utilized the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). A subset of patients was assessed at 3 and 9 /12 months (n=106). Results Significant gender-related differences were observed at baseline: fewer women than men were employed or never married. More women were living with someone having alcohol and drug problems. Methamphetamine was the primary drug for women and men, followed by alcohol and heroin. Compared to AAPI men, AAPI women reported greater problem severity in family/social relationships (0.18 vs. 0.11, p<.001), employment (0.68 vs. 0.56, p<0.001), and mental health (0.19 vs. 0.14, p<0.01). Relative to women, AAPI men reported greater treatment satisfaction at the 3-month follow-up. Significant improvements at follow-up were observed in family, alcohol, drug, and legal domains for both genders, and in mental health for men only. Compared to AAPI men, AAPI women demonstrated significantly greater improvements in drug problems (ΔASI=0.07, p<0.05). Conclusions Gender differences revealed in this study suggest a need for a greater treatment focus on psychiatric problems for AAPI women and drug use problems for AAPI men.

show abstract

“…Treatment delivery for optimal adherence among young, HCV positive Aboriginal people who inject drugs must be individually tailored, enriched with ancillary psychosocial supports and provided within a culturally safe setting [7,35]. These findings may be applicable to at-risk young Indigenous people globally, for example in Australia, where similar patterns of vulnerabilities have been identified [36]. With significant increases in resources, acknowledging the intergenerational trauma related to the residential school system may be one way that Aboriginal leadership and addiction specialists and other practitioners can begin to mitigate the potential impact of the epidemic currently threatening their communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cedar Project: high incidence of HCV infections in a longitudinal study of young Aboriginal people who use drugs in two Canadian cities

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundFactors associated with HCV incidence among young Aboriginal people in Canada are still not well understood. We sought to estimate time to HCV infection and the relative hazard of risk factors associated HCV infection among young Aboriginal people who use injection drugs in two Canadian cities.MethodsThe Cedar Project is a prospective cohort study involving young Aboriginal people in Vancouver and Prince George, British Columbia, who use illicit drugs. Participants’ venous blood samples were drawn and tested for HCV antibodies. Analysis was restricted to participants who use used injection drugs at enrolment or any of follow up visit. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify independent predictors of time to HCV seroconversion.ResultsIn total, 45 out of 148 participants seroconverted over the study period. Incidence of HCV infection was 26.3 per 100 person-years (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 16.3, 46.1) among participants who reported using injection drugs for two years or less, 14.4 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 7.7, 28.9) among participants who had been using injection drugs for between two and five years, and 5.1 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 2.6,10.9) among participants who had been using injection drugs for over five years. Independent associations with HCV seroconversion were involvement in sex work in the last six months (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR): 1.59; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.42) compared to no involvement, having been using injection drugs for less than two years (AHR: 4.14; 95% CI: 1.91, 8.94) and for between two and five years (AHR: 2.12; 95%CI: 0.94, 4.77) compared to over five years, daily cocaine injection in the last six months (AHR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.51, 4.05) compared to less than daily, and sharing intravenous needles in the last six months (AHR: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.47, 4.49) compared to not sharing.ConclusionsThis study contributes to the limited body of research addressing HCV infection among Aboriginal people in Canada. The HCV incidence rate among Cedar Project participants who were new initiates of injection drug use underscores an urgent need for HCV and injection prevention and safety strategies aimed at supporting young people surviving injection drug use and sex work in both cities. Young people must be afforded the opportunity to provide leadership and input in the development of prevention programming.

show abstract

Gender differences in hepatitis C antibody prevalence and risk behaviours amongst people who inject drugs in Australia 1998–2008

Cited by 33 publications

References 37 publications

Prescription Drug Misuse and Risk Behaviors Among Young Injection Drug Users

Prescription Drug Misuse and Risk Behaviors Among Young Injection Drug Users

Gender Comparisons Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Patients in Drug Dependency Treatment

The Cedar Project: high incidence of HCV infections in a longitudinal study of young Aboriginal people who use drugs in two Canadian cities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About