New Research on Street-Involved Youth in Vancouver

 

 

Dear Colleagues:

 

We are writing to you today to inform you about three recently published studies on street-involved youth who use drugs in Vancouver from the Urban Health Research Initiative at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

 

1) What brings youth to the streets of downtown Vancouver?

This qualitative study, involving 38 young drug users, sought to investigate the processes that bring youth to the streets in the first place, and then make it difficult for them to leave this environment. The interviews uncovered that a desire to leave difficult living situations, as well as the need to find affordable housing were some of the reasons youth move to downtown Vancouver, while subsequent heavy drug use, homelessness and involvement in illegal activities were some of the factors that create barriers to leaving street life.  This article is published in the journal ‘Social Science and Medicine’ and is entitled: ‘Coming ‘down here’: young people’s reflections on becoming entrenched in a local drug scene’.

A summary of this study is available on our website at: click here.

The abstract for this study is also available on PubMed at: click here.

 

2)  Childhood physical abuse linked to injection drug use among high-risk youth

This study examined the link between childhood trauma and injection drug use. After considering five forms of childhood maltreatment it found that childhood physical abuse was strongly linked with initiation of injection drug use, underscoring the need for continued efforts to reduce childhood maltreatment as a means of preventing the initiation of injection drug use and other adverse health outcomes. This article is published in the ‘Journal of Adolescent Health’ and is entitled: ‘Childhood trauma and injection drug use among high-risk youth’.

A summary of this study is available on our website at: click here.

The abstract for this study is also available on PubMed at: click here.

 

3) Alarming rates of injection drug use among street-involved youth

This study examined the occurrence of injection drug use among street-involved youth in Vancouver. Among the 560 youth surveyed, 41% reported that they have injected illicit drugs. These youth, when compared to youth who have never injection drugs, were more likely to be involved in sex work, to have had a non-fatal overdose experience, and to have been infected with the hepatitis C virus.  These findings point to the need for a broad set of policies and interventions to prevent the initiation of injection drug use and address the risks faced by street-involved youth who are actively injecting. This article is published in the journal ‘BMC Public Health’ and is entitled: ‘Injection drug use among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting’. 

A summary of this study is available on our website at: click here. 

The abstract for this study is also available on PubMed at: click here.

 

 

Full references and links to the abstracts of all our research studies can also be found through the UHRI website in the ‘Publications’ section at: click here.

 

We hope that you will consider forwarding this message to others who may be interested in these works.

 

Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions concerning the Urban Health Research Initiative and the work we do.

 

Best regards,

 

Thomas Kerr and Evan Wood

 

Co-Directors of the Urban Health Research Initiative

British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Division of AIDS, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia

 

St. Paul's Hospital

608-1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

Canada, V6Z 1Y6

(Tel)  604-806-9116

(Fax) 604-806-9044

Email:  uhri@cfenet.ubc.ca

Website: http://uhri.cfenet.ubc.ca/

 

 

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