ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2023
Negative changes in illicit drug supply during COVID-19: Associations with use of overdose prevention and health services among women sex workers who use drugs (2020-2021).
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health inequities faced by sex workers.The Lancet. Public health · 2026Review
- The Drug Market's Impact on the Overdose Risk Environment for Women Who Use Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026Article
- Use of clinic- and community-based overdose prevention services by sex workers who use drugs: findings from a community-based cohort in Vancouver, Canada (2017-2024).Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Fentanyl, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Cocaine Analyte Concentrations in Urine Drug Testing Specimens.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Increases in housing rules and surveillance during COVID-19: impacts on overdose and overdose response in a community-based cohort of sex workers who use drugs in Vancouver, BC.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWomen sex workers are a highly criminalized population who are over-represented amongst people who use drugs (PWUD) and face gaps in overdose prevention and harm reduction services. British Columbia, Canada continues to face a pronounced drug poisoning crisis of the illicit drug supply, which has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to examine the prevalence and structural correlates of experiencing negative changes in illicit drug supply (e.g., availability, quality, cost, or access to drugs) amongst women sex workers who use drugs during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsCross-sectional questionnaire data were drawn from a prospective, community-based cohort of women sex workers in Vancouver (AESHA) from April 2020 to 2021. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate structural correlates of negative changes in drug supply during COVID-19 among sex workers who use drugs.
resultsAmong 179 sex workers who use drugs, 68.2% reported experiencing negative changes to drug supply during COVID-19, 54.2% recently accessed overdose prevention sites, and 44.7% reported experiencing recent healthcare barriers. In multivariable analysis adjusted for injection drug use, women who reported negative changes in illicit drug supply had higher odds of experiencing recent healthcare barriers (AOR 2.28, 95%CI 1.12-4.62); those recently accessing overdose prevention sites (AOR 1.75, 95%CI 0.86-3.54) faced marginally higher odds also.
conclusionsOver two-thirds of participants experienced negative changes to illicit drug supply during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The association between experiencing negative changes in the illicit drug supply and accessing overdose prevention services highlights the agency of women in taking measures to address overdose-related risks. Highly criminalized women who experience structural barriers to direct services are also vulnerable to fluctuations in the illicit drug supply. Attenuating health consequences requires interventions tailored to sex workers' needs.
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