ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2016
Increased drug use and the timing of social assistance receipt among people who use illicit drugs.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Socioeconomic marginalization and opioid-related overdose: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of modified income assistance payment schedules on substance use service access: Evidence from an experimental study.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Payday Loan Use Among People With Lived and Living Experience of Substance Use.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- The impact of cash and near-cash social policies on substance use outcomes: a scoping review.Health affairs scholar · 2026Review
- No change in substance use disorders or overdose after implementation of state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Multi-level influences on increased overdose risk behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who use drugs in Rhode Island: a qualitative investigation.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Changes in the unregulated opioid drug supply during income assistance payment weeks in Vancouver, Canada: An exploratory analysis.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- Income generation and the patterning of substance use: A gender-based analysis.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Article
- Drug-related harm coinciding with income assistance payments: results from a community-based cohort of people who use drugs.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Observational
- Examining non-attendance of doctor's appointments at a community clinic in Saskatoon.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2019Article
- Increased overdose mortality during the first week of the month: Revisiting the "check effect" through a spatial lens.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Article
- Transitions in income generation among marginalized people who use drugs: A qualitative study on recycling and vulnerability to violence.The International journal on drug policy · 2018Article
- The perspectives of structurally vulnerable people who use drugs on volunteer stipends and work experiences provided through a drug user organization: Opportunities and limitations.The International journal on drug policy · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe monthly disbursement of social assistance (SA) payments to people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) has been temporally associated with increases in drug-related harm. Yet, whether SA receipt changes drug use intensity compared to levels of use at other times in the month has not been established. We therefore examined this relationship among PWUD in Vancouver, Canada (2005-2013).
methodsData were derived from prospective cohorts of HIV-positive and HIV-negative PWUD. Every six months, participants were asked about their illicit drug use during the last 180 days and the past week. We determined whether SA receipt occurred within the assessment's one-week recall period. We employed generalized estimating equations controlling for confounders to examine the relationship between SA receipt and the change in drug use intensity, defined as a 100% increase in the average times per day a given drug was used in the last week compared to the previous 6 months. We tested the robustness of this relationship by stratifying analyses by whether individuals primarily used stimulants, illicit opioids or engaged in polydrug use and examining the timing of SA receipt relative to date of assessment.
resultsOur study included 2661 individuals (median age 36, 32% female) with 1415 (53.2%) reporting SA receipt occurring within the one-week recall period of the assessment at least once. SA receipt was independently associated with intensified drug use (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 1.79; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.53, 2.09), and remained significant when stratified by primary use of stimulants (AOR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.54, 2.26), opioids (AOR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.13) and polydrug use (AOR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.10).
conclusionWe found a temporal association between SA receipt and drug use intensification. While the health and social benefits of SA are significant, these findings suggest that alternative disbursement strategies, such as staggered or smaller and more frequent SA payments may be able to mitigate drug-related harm. Alternatives should be tested rigorously.
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