Substance-Using Women and Experiences of Primary Health Care

To analyze the social, political, and economic determinants that influence health status and access to health services among women who use injection drugs and live in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

To analyze the social, political, and economic determinants that influence health status and access to health services among women who use injection drugs and live in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Research Summary

Women who are injection drug users living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have mortality rates almost 50 times higher than other women in BC. This is the result of persistent inequities involving a complex interplay of social, political and economic determinants that directly influence their health status and access to health care. Analysis of these determinants as they interact with women’s access to health services is urgently needed to inform an evidence-based strategy to address the needs of women with addictions.

The objectives of this research project are to:

• document the experiences of women who use drugs in the Downtown Eastside in accessing primary health care services at walk-in clinics;
• analyze women’s experiences in relation to existing policy frameworks intended to reduce barriers to care for marginalized populations and to reduce health disparities and harms associated with problematic substance use;
• foster dialogue between women who use illicit drugs, health administrators, primary health care providers, and health researchers that will identify opportunities to enhance a) primary health services at walk-in clinics and b) continuity of care between primary health care, harm reduction services, and related health and social services; and
• engage in knowledge translation to support the uptake of research results into existing health policy and service delivery frameworks.

The research team’s goal is to increase understanding of how to improve health services and better serve women with substance use issues and to inform the development and implementation of health policy at the provincial and national levels.