TY - JOUR
T1 - Does sexuality matter? A cross-sectional study of drug use, social injecting, and access to injection-specific care among men who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia
AU - Schroeder, Sophia E.
AU - Wilkinson, A. L.
AU - O’Keefe, D.
AU - Bourne, A.
AU - Doyle, J. S.
AU - Hellard, M.
AU - Dietze, P.
AU - Pedrana, A.
N1 - Funding Information:
SS is the grateful recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program stipend and Monash International Tuition Scholarship. The Burnet Institute is supported by the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program. We would like to thank the Burnet Institute fieldwork team for participant recruitment and data collection, and Long Nguyen for his data management support. Thanks also to Dr Campbell Aitken for his help in editing this paper. Most of all we would like to acknowledge and thank the SuperMIX study participants, some of whom have been engaged in this study for over a decade, patiently sharing details of their lives with us each year.
Funding Information:
SS is the grateful recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program stipend and Monash International Tuition Scholarship. The Burnet Institute is supported by the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program. We would like to thank the Burnet Institute fieldwork team for participant recruitment and data collection, and Long Nguyen for his data management support. Thanks also to Dr Campbell Aitken for his help in editing this paper. Most of all we would like to acknowledge and thank the SuperMIX study participants, some of whom have been engaged in this study for over a decade, patiently sharing details of their lives with us each year.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Background: Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are overrepresented in cohorts of people who inject drugs. GBMSM’s substance use is usually explored in the context of its contribution to sexual risk. We examined drug use practices, connectedness to other people who inject drugs, peer-to-peer injecting, and access to care among men who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia. We aim to describe similarities and differences in these parameters for GBMSM and other men. Methods: Data were drawn from a prospective cohort study of people who inject drugs conducted in Melbourne, Australia, since 2009. This cross-sectional study used data collected between 2016 and 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to assess differences between GBMSM and other men. Results: Of 525 men who injected drugs over the study period, 48 (9%) identified as gay or bisexual, or reported sex with other men in the past 12 months. GBMSM and other men reported similar socio-demographics, drug practices (age of injecting initiation, most injected drug, peer-to-peer injecting, receptive syringe sharing) and access to injecting-specific care (drug treatment, source of needle-syringes). A significantly greater percentage of GBMSM reported past 12-month hepatitis C testing (69% vs. 52%, p = 0.028) and preferring methamphetamine (31% vs. 16%, p = 0.022). A higher percentage of GBMSM reported knowing > 50 other people who inject drugs (46% vs. 37%), but this difference was not statistically significant. Both groups primarily obtained injecting equipment from needle-syringe programs; a minority had accessed injecting-specific primary care. Conclusion: Men who injected drugs in this cohort and those who identified as GBMSM reported similar drug and health-seeking practices. The higher prevalence of methamphetamine injecting among GBMSM may warrant different harm reduction support for this group. Health promotion should utilise opportunities to connect men who inject drugs in Melbourne to injecting-specific primary health care.
AB - Background: Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are overrepresented in cohorts of people who inject drugs. GBMSM’s substance use is usually explored in the context of its contribution to sexual risk. We examined drug use practices, connectedness to other people who inject drugs, peer-to-peer injecting, and access to care among men who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia. We aim to describe similarities and differences in these parameters for GBMSM and other men. Methods: Data were drawn from a prospective cohort study of people who inject drugs conducted in Melbourne, Australia, since 2009. This cross-sectional study used data collected between 2016 and 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to assess differences between GBMSM and other men. Results: Of 525 men who injected drugs over the study period, 48 (9%) identified as gay or bisexual, or reported sex with other men in the past 12 months. GBMSM and other men reported similar socio-demographics, drug practices (age of injecting initiation, most injected drug, peer-to-peer injecting, receptive syringe sharing) and access to injecting-specific care (drug treatment, source of needle-syringes). A significantly greater percentage of GBMSM reported past 12-month hepatitis C testing (69% vs. 52%, p = 0.028) and preferring methamphetamine (31% vs. 16%, p = 0.022). A higher percentage of GBMSM reported knowing > 50 other people who inject drugs (46% vs. 37%), but this difference was not statistically significant. Both groups primarily obtained injecting equipment from needle-syringe programs; a minority had accessed injecting-specific primary care. Conclusion: Men who injected drugs in this cohort and those who identified as GBMSM reported similar drug and health-seeking practices. The higher prevalence of methamphetamine injecting among GBMSM may warrant different harm reduction support for this group. Health promotion should utilise opportunities to connect men who inject drugs in Melbourne to injecting-specific primary health care.
KW - Injecting practices
KW - Injection drug use
KW - People who inject drugs
KW - Sexual minority men
KW - Sexuality and sociability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146756325&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12954-023-00737-6
DO - 10.1186/s12954-023-00737-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 36691010
AN - SCOPUS:85146756325
SN - 1477-7517
VL - 20
JO - Harm Reduction Journal
JF - Harm Reduction Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 9
ER -
