Recent incarceration and use of a supervised injection facility in Vancouver, Canada

Abstract

There are concerns that Vancouver's supervised injection facility (SIF) for injection drug users (IDU) is an amplifier of drug-related crime. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the possible association between SIF use and recent incarceration among IDU. We examined incarceration experiences among participants in the Scientific Evaluation of Supervised Injecting (SEOSI) prospective cohort. The relationship between recent incarceration and frequent SIF use was assessed using generalised estimating equations (GEE). Nine-hundred two individuals were included in this analysis, of whom 255 (28.27%) were female. The rate of incarceration remained stable throughout follow-up with between one-quarter and one-third reported incarceration in the previous 6 months at each study visit. In a multivariate GEE analysis, frequent SIF use was not associated with recent incarceration (AOR: 0.99, p = 0.916). Although incarceration is a common experience among local IDU, our analysis does not provide evidence to support claims that, use of the SIF is increasing involvement in drug-related crime in the community. Our findings also indicate that incarceration continues to be associated with high-risk behaviours.