Injection Drug Use Among Street Youth: A Dynamic Process

Abstract

In 1995, we conducted a one-year crosssectional anonymous study to estimate HIV prevalence and associated risk factors among street youth in Montreal. A total of 919 participants aged 13 to 25 years were recruited with the collaboration of 20 street youth agencies. An HIV prevalence rate of 1.85% (95% CI 1.12-2.89) was found, which was 3.7 times higher than the rate estimated for the general Montreal population. 1,2 Injection drug use was one of the risk factors associated with infection. In fact, 36% of street youth had ever injected drugs and 23% had injected in the previous six months. These rates represent the highest rates of injection drug use ever reported among street youth in the literature. 3-6 These disturbing findings prompted us to develop a prospective cohort study in which we monitor the evolution of drug-related behaviours among street youth.