Increased drug use and the timing of social assistance receipt among people who use illicit drugs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The monthly disbursement of social assistance (SA) payments to people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) has been temporally associated with increases in drug-related harm. Yet, whether SA receipt changes drug use intensity compared to levels of use at other times in the month has not been established. We therefore examined this relationship among PWUD in Vancouver, Canada (2005-2013).

Methods

Data were derived from prospective cohorts of HIV-positive and HIV-negative PWUD. Every six months, participants were asked about their illicit drug use during the last 180 days and the past week. We determined whether SA receipt occurred within the assessment's one-week recall period. We employed generalized estimating equations controlling for confounders to examine the relation

SUBMITTER: Krebs E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5127399 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature