title: Employment among users of a medically supervised safer injection facility.
abstract: A supervised injection facility (SIF), where individuals can inject drugs under medical supervision, opened in Vancouver in 2003. The scientific evaluation of the SIF has demonstrated positive public health-related outcomes. However, the influence of supervised injection facilities on individual efforts to reintegrate into mainstream society has not been studied. We examined for a possible relationship between use of the SIF and employment among a cohort of 1090 SIF users using generalized estimating equations (GEE). In a multivariate analysis of factors associated with employment, using the SIF for >or= 25% of injections (versus > 25% of injections) was not statistically significant (AOR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.88-1.27). These findings suggest that the SIF is not having an adverse impact on efforts to seek employment.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Lindsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montaner
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tyndall
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001955:British Columbia; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000534:rehabilitation*