title: Illicit and injecting drug use among Indigenous young people in urban, regional and remote Australia.
abstract: To examine patterns of illicit drug use among Australian Indigenous young people, identify correlates of frequent use separately in urban, regional and remote settings and characterise those who inject.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional design at 40 Indigenous events. Self-complete surveys were administered to Indigenous people aged 16-29 years using mobile devices.
  
  
  
  2,877 participants completed the survey. One in five reported using cannabis at least weekly in the previous year, but the use of other drugs was less prevalent. Patterns of drug use were largely similar across regions, although more participants in urban and regional areas reported using ecstasy (12% vs 11% vs 5%) and cocaine (6% vs 3% vs 1%) and more reported weekly cannabis use (18% vs 22% vs 14%). Injecting was rare (3%) but those who did inject reported a high incidence of needle sharing (37%). Methamphetamine (37%), heroin (36%) and methadone (26%) were the most commonly injected drugs, and injecting was related to prison experience (AOR 5.3 95% CI 2.8-10.0).
  
  
  
  Attention is needed in relation to cannabis use, particularly among those Indigenous young people living in regional and urban settings. Also, although injecting is uncommon, it is associated with prison involvement. Priority must be given to reducing the numbers of Indigenous youth entering justice settings, delaying the age at first entry to justice settings, and reducing the risk of BBV acquisition while in custody through, for example, prison-based NSP, BBV education, and Indigenous-specific treatment that emphasises connection to country and culture. [Bryant J, Ward J, Wand H, Byron K, Bamblett A, Waples-Crowe P, Betts S, Coburn T, Delaney-Thiele D, Worth H, Kaldor J, Pitts M. Illicit and injecting drug use among Indigenous young people in urban, regional and remote Australia. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:447-455].
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Research in Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Research Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wand
authors.affiliation: Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Kat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Byron
authors.affiliation: Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bamblett
authors.affiliation: Moondani Balluk Indigenous Unit, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Waples-Crowe
authors.affiliation: Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Betts
authors.affiliation: Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coburn
authors.affiliation: Aboriginal Medical Service Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Dea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Delaney-Thiele
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Worth
authors.affiliation: The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaldor
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pitts
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055030:Drug Users; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult; D000095283:Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs
keywords: Australia; Indigenous; illicit drug use; injecting drug use; young people