Retention in primary care among unstably housed residents of a low-income, inner-city neighborhood with a high prevalence of substance use and related disorders.

Introduction: Access to and engagement with primary healthcare can be difficult for marginalized low-income populations residing in inner cities in high-income countries. We designed a study to examine retention in primary care among clients of a novel interdisciplinary primary care clinic in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada who did not previously have access to care.

Methods: Beginning in June 2021, clients of the Hope to Health clinic were offered enrolment in a cohort study which involved a baseline and follow-up surveys every six months, and linking their data to information from the clinic's electronic medical records.

Characterizing opioid agonist therapy uptake and factors associated with treatment retention among people with HIV in British Columbia, Canada.

Accidental overdoses are now the leading cause of death among people with HIV (PWH) in British Columbia (BC). We examined the utilization and retention of opioid agonist therapy (OAT). Adult PWH (≥19 years) with ≥ 1 OAT dispensation in BC between 2008 and 2020 were included (n = 1,515).

Interest in using buprenorphine-naloxone among a prospective cohort of street-involved young people in Vancouver, Canada.

Introduction: Limited research examines buprenorphine-naloxone interest among adolescents and young adults (AYA). This longitudinal study examined factors associated with initial buprenorphine-naloxone interest and the time to a positive change in buprenorphine-naloxone interest or enrollment, in addition to identifying reasons for buprenorphine-naloxone disinterest.

Methods: The study derived data from a cohort of street-involved AYA in Vancouver, Canada between December 2014 and June 2018.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment Discontinuation Among Young People who use Opioids in Vancouver, Canada.

Objective: Retaining adolescents and young adults (AYA) in medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), like methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), is critical to reducing toxic drug fatalities. This analysis sought to identify factors associated with MMT discontinuation among AYA.

Method: Data were derived from the At-Risk Youth Study, a prospective cohort study of street-involved AYA in Vancouver, Canada, between December 2005 and June 2018.

Navigating Opioid Agonist Therapy among Young People who use Illicit Opioids in Vancouver, Canada.

Background: Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) has been shown to reduce opioid use and related harms. However, many young people are not accessing OAT. This study sought to explore how young people navigated OAT over time, including periods of engagement, disengagement, and avoidance.