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Health services utilization by injection drug users participating in a needle exchange program
Elise D Riley1, Albert W Wu, Benjamin Junge
1Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
|September 5, 2002
Summary
Health insurance significantly boosts primary care and drug treatment use among high-risk individuals at needle exchange programs (NEPs). Facilitating insurance access at NEPs can improve healthcare for drug users.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Addiction Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Needle exchange programs (NEPs) serve high-risk populations, including injection drug users.
- Understanding healthcare and drug treatment utilization patterns is crucial for this demographic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify characteristics associated with healthcare and drug treatment utilization.
- To examine these patterns within a specific high-risk sub-population of NEP participants.
Main Methods:
- Demographic and health services utilization data were collected from Baltimore NEP participants (June 1998-May 1999).
- Logistic regression analysis was employed to determine factors associated with primary care and drug treatment utilization in the preceding three years.
Main Results:
- Primary care utilization was linked to older age (>=39), health insurance, and higher syringe exchange volume.
- Drug treatment utilization was associated with African-American race, unemployment, health insurance, and syringe exchange volume.
Conclusions:
- Health insurance is a key factor for accessing both primary care and drug treatment among NEP attendees.
- Improving health insurance access at NEP sites could enhance healthcare engagement for underserved drug users.