Longitudinal migration patterns from an open illicit drug scene among people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada

The objective of this study was to identify migration patterns from an open illicit drug scene (the Downtown Eastside [DTES] neighborhood) and describe factors associated with these migration patterns. Data were derived from three cohorts of people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada. Defined using latent class growth analysis, we identified four distinct migration trajectory groups: 1) consistently living in the DTES (47.8%); 2) early migration out, with a median time of migrating out of DTES of 5.3  months (21.5%); 3) late migration out, with a median time of migrating out of DTES of 38.0 months (20.1%); and 4) frequent revisit back-and-forth to DTES (10.6%).

Source: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment - October 17, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Lianping Ti, Huiru Dong, Andrew Day, Rachael McKendry, Kora DeBeck, Brittany Bingham, M.-J. Milloy, Rolando Barrios, Kanna Hayashi Source Type: research