Skip to main content

Table 2 PROUD participant characteristics by care engagement status (non-opioid substitution therapy visits) (n = 663)

From: Engagement in primary health care among marginalized people who use drugs in Ottawa, Canada

Variable

Not Engaged

Engaged

P valuea

N = 291

N = 372

 

Demographic characteristics

n (%)

n (%)

 

 Age

  Mean (SD)

41.3 (10.6)

41.6 (10.9)

0.734

  Median (IQR)

42 (33–50)

43 (32–50)

0.652

 Age category (years)

   < = 24

26 (8.9%)

28 (7.5%)

0.406

  25 to 34

56 (19.2%)

78 (21.0%)

 

  35 to 44

88 (30.2%)

94 (25.3%)

 

  45+

121 (41.6%)

172 (46.2%)

 

 Gender

  Male

229 (78.7%)

272 (73.1%)

0.097

  Female

62 (21.3%)

100 (26.9%)

 Ethnicity

  Indigenous only

59 (20.3%)

61 (16.4%)

0.198

  Other/no answer

232 (79.7%)

311 (83.6%)

 First language

  French

48 (16.5%)

54 (14.5%)

0.761

  English

221 (75.9%)

291 (78.2%)

  Other/no answer

22 (7.6%)

27 (7.3%)

 Sexual orientation

  Heterosexual

263 (90.4%)

324 (87.1%)

0.188

  Gay/lesbian/homosexual/other

28 (9.6%)

48 (12.9%)

 Neighborhood of residence

  Market/Lowertown

130 (44.7%)

143 (38.4%)

0.237

  Centretown

46 (15.8%)

71 (19.1%)

  Other

115 (39.5%)

158 (42.5%)

 Neighborhood Income Quintile

  1 (lowest)

97 (33.3%)

149 (40.1%)

0.002

  2

99 (34.0%)

97 (26.1%)

 

  3

62 (21.3%)

82 (22.0%)

 

  4 and 5 (highest)

22 (7.6%)

<=45 (0.0%)

 

  Missing

11 (3.8%)

<=5 (0.0%)

 

 Highest level of education

  Some high school or less

141 (48.5%)

167 (44.9%)

0.764

  High school graduate or equivalent

84 (28.9%)

109 (29.3%)

 

  Some college or university

41 (14.1%)

58 (15.6%)

 

  College or university completed

25 (8.6%)

38 (10.2%)

 

 Provincial social assistance benefits

  Disability payments (Ontario Disability Support Program)

102 (35.1%)

240 (64.5%)

<.001

  Income assistance (Ontario Works)

67 (23.0%)

97 (26.1%)

  Other (includes Trillium, 65y+, none)

122 (41.9%)

35 (9.4%)

 Comorbidity

  No comorbidity (0 ADGs)

77 (26.5%)

<=5 (0.0%)

<.001

  Low comorbidity (1–5 ADGs)

123 (42.3%)

119 (32.0%)

 

  Medium comorbidity (6–9 ADGs)

58 (19.9%)

<=115 (0.0%)

 

  High comorbidity (> = 10 ADGs)

33 (11.3%)

137 (36.8%)

 

Social characteristics

n (%)

n (%)

 

 Received drugs, money, gifts for sex last 12 months

26 (8.9%)

56 (15.1%)

0.018

 Stable housing

78 (26.8%)

170 (45.7%)

<.001

 Ever red zoned

80 (27.5%)

132 (35.5%)

0.029

 Detained in jail overnight or longer ever

223 (76.6%)

287 (77.2%)

0.875

 Detained in jail overnight or longer last 12 months

105 (36.1%)

147 (39.5%)

0.366

Drug use characteristics

n (%)

n (%)

 

 Ever injected drugs

173 (59.5%)

289 (77.7%)

<.001

 Drug use in past 12 months

  Any injection

107 (36.8%)

219 (58.9%)

<.001

  Non-injection use of only non-opioids

142 (48.8%)

129 (34.7%)

<.001

  Non-injection drug use of both opioids and non-opioids

148 (50.9%)

242 (65.1%)

<.001

 Ever injected with used needle

56 (19.2%)

129 (34.7%)

<.001

 Ever with unknown needle

46 (15.8%)

80 (21.5%)

0.063

 Frequency of injecting with others in past 12 months

  Always

26 (8.9%)

55 (14.8%)

<.001

  Most of the time

15 (5.2%)

31 (8.3%)

 

  Usually/sometimes/occasionally

40 (13.7%)

100 (26.9%)

 

  Never

21 (7.2%)

33 (8.9%)

 

  Other

189 (64.9%)

153 (41.1%)

 

 Location of injection drug use

  House/apartment

36 (12.4%)

64 (17.2%)

0.084

  Public place

255 (87.6%)

308 (82.8%)

 Most frequent location of injection drug use

  House/apartment

64 (22.0%)

143 (38.4%)

<.001

  Public place

227 (78.0%)

229 (61.6%)

 Ever overdosed

114 (39.2%)

188 (50.5%)

0.004

 Overdosed in past 12 months

44 (15.1%)

69 (18.5%)

0.244

 Last overdose taken to ED/hospital

57 (19.6%)

87 (23.4%)

0.239

Health characteristics

n (%)

n (%)

 

 Comorbid HIV

12 (4.1%)

38 (10.2%)

0.003

 Comorbid mental health condition (excluding substance use)

109 (37.5%)

253 (68.0%)

<.001

Self-reported health status

  Excellent/very good

71 (24.4%)

83 (22.3%)

0.071

  Good

120 (41.2%)

129 (34.7%)

 

  Fair/poor/no answer

100 (34.4%)

160 (43.0%)

 

 Ever suicidal ideation

161 (55.3%)

228 (61.3%)

0.122

 Ever attempted suicide

95 (32.6%)

132 (35.5%)

0.445

 Attempted suicide in last 12 months

25 (8.6%)

36 (9.7%)

0.631

 Ever tested for Hepatitis C

226 (77.7%)

336 (90.3%)

<.001

 Reported last Hepatitis C test results

  Positive

78 (26.8%)

180 (48.4%)

<.001

  Negative

131 (45.0%)

137 (36.8%)

  No answer/don’t know/missing

82 (28.2%)

55 (14.8%)

Health care utilization

n (%)

n (%)

 

 Received support from peer worker

121 (41.6%)

156 (41.9%)

0.927

 Received support from social support organization

179 (61.5%)

223 (59.9%)

0.682

 # of outpatient primary care visits in 1 year prior to survey completion

  Median (IQR)

1 (0–3)

8 (4–19)

< 0.001

 Ever on methadone

51 (17.5%)

172 (46.2%)

<.001

 Currently on methadone

35 (12.0%)

128 (34.4%)

<.001

 Accessed addiction treatment in past 12 months

102 (35.1%)

137 (36.8%)

0.636

  1. aalpha level of 0.05 used to determine statistical significance