Variable | Recruitment location | χ 2 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Inner-West | Central | Outer-urban | ||
N=361 | N=177 | N=150 | p-value | |
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
Recruitment method | Â | Â | Â | 0.615 |
  RDS | 130 (36) | 67 (38) | 49 (33) | |
  Other | 231 (64) | 110 (62) | 101 (67) | |
Demographic and social characteristics | ||||
Sex | Â | Â | Â | 0.920 |
  Female | 119 (33) | 58 (33) | 52 (35) | |
  Male | 242 (67) | 119 (67) | 98 (65) | |
Age | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  Median (IQR) | 27.4 (24.4-29.3) | 28.0 (24.4-29.8) | 27.8 (23.9-29.6) | 0.579 |
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander status | Â | Â | Â | 0.534 |
  Yes | 22 (6) | 12 (7) | 6 (4) | |
  No | 339 (94) | 165 (93) | 144 (96) | |
Country of birth | Â | Â | Â | <0.001 |
  Australia | 275 (76) | 136 (77) | 139 (93) | |
  Other | 84 (24) | 40 (23) | 11 (7) | |
Main income source (last month) | Â | Â | Â | 0.140 |
  Wage or salary | 28 (8) | 15 (9) | 15 (10) | |
  Government pension or benefits | 308 (85) | 150 (85) | 131 (89) | |
  Other1 | 25 (7) | 11 (6) | 2 (1) | |
Employment status | Â | Â | Â | 0.547 |
  Not employed | 311 (86) | 154 (87) | 125 (83) | |
  Employed | 50 (14) | 22 (13) | 25 (17) | |
Education | Â | Â | Â | 0.055 |
  Did not complete year 10 | 118 (33) | 49 (28) | 64 (43) | |
  Completed year 10–11 | 169 (47) | 85 (48) | 63 (42) | |
  Completed high school or higher | 74 (21) | 43 (24) | 23 (15) | |
Current accommodation type | Â | Â | Â | <0.001 |
  Owner-occupied | 97 (27) | 27 (15) | 30 (20) | |
  Private rental | 103 (29) | 41 (24) | 48 (32) | |
  Public housing | 104 (29) | 54 (30) | 49 (33) | |
  No stable accommodation | 55 (15) | 55 (31) | 21 (14) | |
Incarceration history | Â | Â | Â | 0.150 |
  Never been in prison | 145 (40) | 76 (43) | 55 (37) | |
  Incarcerated once | 123 (34) | 46 (26) | 42 (28) | |
  Incarcerated two or more times | 92 (26) | 54 (31) | 51 (35) | |
Recent arrest (last 12 months) | Â | Â | Â | 0.299 |
  Yes | 201 (56) | 86 (49) | 82 (56) | |
  No | 159 (44) | 89 (51) | 64 (44) | |
Drug use characteristics | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Age at first injection | Â | Â | Â | <0.001 |
  Median (IQR) | 17 (15–20) | 17 (15–19) | 16 (14–18) | |
Duration of injecting career (years) | Â | Â | Â | 0.004 |
  Median (range) | 9.7 (<1-20.5) | 10.2 (<1-21.2) | 11.3 (1.1-21.2) | |
First drug injected | 261 (72) | 106 (60) | 78 (52) | <0.001 |
  Heroin | 91 (25) | 63 (36) | 59 (39) | |
  Amphetamines | 4 (1) | 5 (3) | 1 (1) | |
  Other stimulant | 3 (1) | 2 (1) | 10 (7) | |
  Other opiate | 2 (1) | 1 (1) | 2 (1) | |
  Other |  |  |  | |
Drugs injected last month | Â | Â | Â | <0.001 |
  Heroin only | 172 (48) | 85 (48) | 22 (15) | |
  Heroin and other drugs | 165 (46) | 67 (38) | 52 (35) | |
  Amphetamines only | 9 (3) | 8 (5) | 17 (11) | |
  Other drugs only2 | 4 (1) | 8 (5) | 48 (32) | |
  Did not inject in last week | 11 (3) | 9 (5) | 11 (7) | |
Frequency of heroin injection (last week) | Â | Â | Â | 0.022 |
  Median (range) | 5 (1–60) | 4 (1–50) | 3 (1–28) | |
Frequency of methamphetamine injection (last week) | Â | Â | Â | 0.047 |
  Median (range) | 2 (1–25) | 2 (1–42) | 2 (1–28) | |
Ever been on OST | Â | Â | Â | 0.072 |
  Yes | 260 (72) | 115 (65) | 114 (77) | |
  No | 99 (28) | 61 (35) | 35 (23) | |
Currently on OST | Â | Â | Â | 0.001 |
  Yes | 121 (34) | 50 (28) | 71 (48) | |
  No | 238 (66) | 126 (72) | 78 (52) | |
Frequency of alcohol use (last month) | Â | Â | Â | 0.001 |
  Never | 146 (40) | 69 (39) | 34 (23) | |
  Once per week or less | 119 (33) | 48 (27) | 51 (34) | |
  Two to three times per week | 31 (9) | 20 (11) | 26 (18) | |
  Four or more times per week | 65 (18) | 39 (22) | 38 (26) | |
Heroin overdose (lifetime) | Â | Â | Â | 0.654 |
  Yes | 141 (39) | 68 (39) | 64 (43) | |
  No | 219 (61) | 107 (61) | 84 (57) | |
Heroin overdose (last six months) | Â | Â | Â | 0.799 |
  Yes | 36 (26) | 18 (27) | 14 (22) | |
  No | 104 (74) | 50 (74) | 50 (78) | |
Health characteristics | Â | Â | Â | Â |
BBV status (self-reported) 3 | n=324 | n=162 | n=143 | Â |
  HCV positive | 164 (51) | 80 (49) | 64 (45) | 0.863 |
Number of health services used (last month) | n=352 | n=172 | n=148 | Â |
  Median (range) | 1 (0–7) | 1 (0–9) | 1 (0–5) | 0.013 |
Health services used (last month) 4 | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  Hospital Emergency Department | 47 (13) | 22 (12) | 24 (16) | 0.593 |
  Hospital Inpatients | 14 (4) | 10 (6) | 11 (7) | 0.260 |
  Hospital Outpatients | 10 (3) | 15 (9) | 8 (5) | 0.012 |
  General Practice | 200 (56) | 95 (54) | 105 (71) | 0.003 |
  PWID Primary Health Care Centre | 55 (15) | 41 (23) | 22 (15) | 0.047 |
  Ambulance | 25 (7) | 15 (9) | 14 (9) | 0.620 |
  Psychologist/psychiatrist | 45 (13) | 30 (17) | 22 (15) | 0.362 |
  Other5 | 45 (13) | 33 (19) | 22 (15) | 0.165 |