Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    Frequent experience of discrimination among people who inject drugs: Links with health and wellbeing

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Couto e Cruz, C.
    Salom, C.
    Dietze, P.
    Lenton, Simon
    Burns, L.
    Alati, Rosa
    Date
    2018
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Couto e Cruz, C. and Salom, C. and Dietze, P. and Lenton, S. and Burns, L. and Alati, R. 2018. Frequent experience of discrimination among people who inject drugs: Links with health and wellbeing. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 190: pp. 188-194.
    Source Title
    Drug and Alcohol Dependence
    DOI
    10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.06.009
    ISSN
    0376-8716
    School
    National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71130
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    © 2018 Elsevier B.V. Background: Previous research has shown that people who inject drugs (PWID) experience discrimination on a regular basis. This study explores the relationships between discrimination against PWID and health and wellbeing. Methods: Data on discrimination against PWID and their health and wellbeing were drawn from the Illicit Drug Reporting System collected in Australia in 2016. The Personal Wellbeing Index was used to measure wellbeing, and the Kessler-10 scale was used to measure psychological distress. Experience of overdose, injecting related illnesses, diseases, and risky injecting behaviour were also assessed. We fitted multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for socio-demographic, imprisonment history, and drug-related factors. Results: Of the 796 participants included in the study, the majority who reported experiencing discrimination were male (65%), heterosexual (89%), and unemployed (89%). Thirty percent of the sample (n = 238) reported they had never experienced discrimination because of their injecting drug use. Seventeen percent of participants had not experienced discrimination in the twelve months prior to the interview, 24% experienced discrimination monthly, 16% experienced discrimination weekly, and 13% experienced discrimination daily or more. Frequent discrimination was associated with increased odds of overdosing, injecting related illnesses and diseases, mental health issues, and poor wellbeing. Among those who reported experiencing discrimination, females and those who identified as Indigenous were found to have poorer health and wellbeing outcomes. Conclusions: Our findings highlighted that frequent discrimination may lead to worse health and wellbeing among PWID. If our findings are supported by other research, policies aimed at reducing discrimination against PWID may be warranted or improved.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • The association between experiencing discrimination and physical and mental health among PWID
      Couto e Cruz, C.; Salom, C.; Dietze, P.; Burns, L.; Alati, Rosa (2019)
      Background: Discrimination can be a daily issue in the lives of people who inject drugs (PWID). However, the extent to which discrimination is related to the health of PWID remains unclear. Methods: Data focusing on ...
    • Longitudinal changes in personal wellbeing in a cohort of people who inject drugs
      Scott, N.; Carrotte, E.; Higgs, Peter; Stoové, M.; Aitken, C.; Dietze, P. (2017)
      © 2017 Scott et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original ...
    • Experiences of liver health related uncertainty and self-reported stress among people who inject drugs living with hepatitis C virus: A qualitative study
      Goutzamanis, S.; Doyle, J.; Thompson, A.; Dietze, P.; Hellard, M.; Higgs, Peter (2018)
      Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are most at risk of hepatitis C virus infection in Australia. The introduction of transient elastography (TE) (measuring hepatitis fibrosis) and direct acting antiviral medications ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.