title: A cross-sectional study describing factors associated with utilisation of GP services by a cohort of people who inject drugs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  People who inject drugs (PWID) use healthcare services, including primary care, at a disproportionately high rate. We investigated key correlates of general practitioner (GP) related service utilisation within a cohort of PWID.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using baseline data from a cohort of 645 community-recruited PWID based in Melbourne, Victoria, we conducted a secondary analysis of associations between past month use of GP services unrelated to opioid substitution therapy (OST) and socio-demographic and drug use characteristics and self-reported health using multivariate logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Just under one-third (29%) of PWID had accessed GP services in the month prior to being surveyed. Participants who reported living with children (adjusted odds ratio, AOR 1.97, 95% CI 1.04 - 3.73) or having had contact with a social worker in the past month (AOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.24 - 2.98) were more likely to have seen a GP in the past month. Participants who were injecting daily or more frequently (AOR 0.50, 95% CI 0.30 - 0.83) or had a weekly income of less than $400 (AOR 0.59, 95% CI 0.38 - 0.91) were less likely to report having seen a GP in the past month.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our sample frequently attended GP services for health needs unrelated to OST. Findings highlight both the characteristics of PWID accessing GP services and also those potentially missing out on primary care and preventive services.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Rd, 3004 Melbourne, VIC, Australia. dhanya@burnet.edu.au.
authors.forename: Dhanya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nambiar
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoové
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dietze
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000628:therapy*; D014600:Utilization Review; D014739:Victoria