Paul L Sacamano1, Shruti H Mehta2, Carl Latkin3, Oluwaseun Falade-Nwulia4, Gregory D Kirk5, Abby E Rudolph6. 1. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. Electronic address: paulls@elrio.org. 2. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6546, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. 3. Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Hampton House 737, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. 4. Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Suite 215, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. 5. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6533, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. 6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Temple University College of Public Health, 1301 Cecil B Moore Avenue, Ritter Annex 905, Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Social network members influence risk and health behaviors, yet little is known about the support that persons who inject drugs (PWID) receive from their closest ties. METHODS: 970 participants from the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience (ALIVE) study completed a social network survey between April 2016 and June 2017 about their five closest ties. Our analysis: 1) identified latent classes of support received by participants; 2) determined whether class membership differed by current (≤12 months) vs. former (>12 months) injection drug use; 3) compared classes of support by individual and network characteristics. RESULTS: 970 participants listed 3,388 network members. We identified three support classes: (1) Moderate (n = 249): probabilities of support <0.40; (2) High (n = 366): probabilities of support 0.58-0.82; (3) Very high (n = 355): probabilities of support 0.91-0.99. In adjusted analysis compared to moderate support, the odds of high and very high support increased as the mean age of network members increased (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]:1.03; 95 % CI: 1.01, 1.05) and as the number of network members with whom they interacted daily increased (AOR-high: 1.33; 95 % CI:1.14, 1.56 and AOR-very high: 1.54; 95 % CI: 1.30, 1.83). While current injection drug use was associated with lower unadjusted odds of high and very high support, the associations were not statistically significant in adjusted analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Support was higher among networks of older ties and more frequent interaction, but differences did not appear to be driven by injection drug use status. Findings point to the importance of the closest social ties.
BACKGROUND: Social network members influence risk and health behaviors, yet little is known about the support that persons who inject drugs (PWID) receive from their closest ties. METHODS: 970 participants from the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience (ALIVE) study completed a social network survey between April 2016 and June 2017 about their five closest ties. Our analysis: 1) identified latent classes of support received by participants; 2) determined whether class membership differed by current (≤12 months) vs. former (>12 months) injection drug use; 3) compared classes of support by individual and network characteristics. RESULTS: 970 participants listed 3,388 network members. We identified three support classes: (1) Moderate (n = 249): probabilities of support <0.40; (2) High (n = 366): probabilities of support 0.58-0.82; (3) Very high (n = 355): probabilities of support 0.91-0.99. In adjusted analysis compared to moderate support, the odds of high and very high support increased as the mean age of network members increased (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]:1.03; 95 % CI: 1.01, 1.05) and as the number of network members with whom they interacted daily increased (AOR-high: 1.33; 95 % CI:1.14, 1.56 and AOR-very high: 1.54; 95 % CI: 1.30, 1.83). While current injection drug use was associated with lower unadjusted odds of high and very high support, the associations were not statistically significant in adjusted analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Support was higher among networks of older ties and more frequent interaction, but differences did not appear to be driven by injection drug use status. Findings point to the importance of the closest social ties.
Authors: C Latkin; W Mandell; M Oziemkowska; D Celentano; D Vlahov; M Ensminger; A Knowlton Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 1995-04 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: Louisa Degenhardt; Amy Peacock; Samantha Colledge; Janni Leung; Jason Grebely; Peter Vickerman; Jack Stone; Evan B Cunningham; Adam Trickey; Kostyantyn Dumchev; Michael Lynskey; Paul Griffiths; Richard P Mattick; Matthew Hickman; Sarah Larney Journal: Lancet Glob Health Date: 2017-10-23 Impact factor: 26.763