Table 1 Sociodemographics, drug use patterns, and harm reduction practices of 509 people who use drugs in Rhode Island from August 2020 to February 2023, stratified by race and ethnicity
Characteristic | Overall (n = 509) | Non-Hispanic white (n = 261) | Non-Hispanic Blacka (n = 82) | Non-Hispanic other race (n = 59) | Hispanic (n = 106) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sociodemographics | |||||||
Age | By year, median (IQR) | 43 (35, 53) | 42 (35, 52) | 51 (41, 56) | 40 (35, 52) | 39 (31, 51) | < 0.01 |
Gender | Man (cisgender) | 326 (64%) | 166 (63%) | 51 (61%) | 32 (54%) | 77 (73%) | 0.11 |
Woman (cisgender) | 166 (33%) | 88 (34%) | 30 (36%) | 22 (37.3%) | 26 (25%) | - - - | |
Transgender/Othera | 17 (3%) | 7 (3%) | 2 (2%) | 5 (9%) | 3 (3%) | - - - | |
Orientation | LGBQ | 83 (16%) | 41 (15%) | 12 (15%) | 13 (22%) | 17 (16%) | 0.64 |
Homelessness | Prior month | 299 (59%) | 146 (56%) | 44 (53%) | 39 (66%) | 70 (66%) | 0.13 |
Monthly income | ≤$500 | 227 (45%) | 117 (45%) | 39 (47%) | 19 (32%) | 52 (49%) | 0.14 |
$501–1500 | 236 (47%) | 114 (44%) | 41 (49%) | 35 (59%) | 46 (43%) | - - - | |
<$1500 | 41 (8%) | 27 (10%) | 3 (4%) | 4 (7%) | 7 (7%) | - - - | |
Incarceration | Ever | 394 (77%) | 205 (79%) | 64 (77%) | 47 (80%) | 78 (74%) | 0.73 |
Drug use patterns | |||||||
Regular use | Prescription opioidsb | 124 (24%) | 68 (26%) | 16 (19%) | 8 (14%) | 32 (30%) | 0.06 |
Benzodiazepinesb | 112 (22%) | 74 (28%) | 12 (14%) | 8 (14%) | 18 (17%) | < 0.01 | |
Methamphetamineb | 83 (16%) | 59 (23%) | 2 (2%) | 9 (15%) | 13 (12%) | < 0.01 | |
Powder cocaineb | 137 (27%) | 56 (22%) | 27 (33%) | 17 (28%) | 37 (35%) | 0.03 | |
Crack cocaineb | 309 (61%) | 155 (59%) | 51 (61%) | 33 (56%) | 70 (66%) | 0.56 | |
Heroin/Fentanylc | 200 (39%) | 126 (48%) | 12 (15%) | 19 (32%) | 43 (41%) | < 0.01 | |
Injection drug use | Ever | 280 (55%) | 183 (70%) | 20 (24%) | 28 (48%) | 49 (46%) | < 0.01 |
Share syringes/supplies | Ever | 169 (33%) | 122 (47%) | 6 (7%) | 20 (34%) | 21 (20%) | < 0.01 |
Drug selling | Ever | 349 (69%) | 188 (72%) | 48 (58%) | 41 (70%) | 72 (68%) | 0.11 |
Overdose history | Ever | 273 (54%) | 163 (63%) | 26 (31%) | 29 (49%) | 55 (52%) | < 0.01 |
Prior month | 39 (8%) | 20 (8%) | 3 (4%) | 4 (7%) | 12 (11%) | 0.26 | |
# prior month overdoses (median, IQR) | 1 (1,2) | 2 (1,3) | 1 (1,1) | 3 (1.75, 3.75) | 1.5 (1, 2) | 0.30 | |
Overdose response | Ever witness | 434 (85%) | 227 (87%) | 61 (74%) | 52 (88%) | 94 (89%) | 0.01 |
Ever perform rescue breathing | 260 (51%) | 149 (57%) | 28 (34%) | 29 (49%) | 54 (51%) | < 0.01 | |
Ever administer naloxone | 307 (60%) | 175 (67%) | 32 (39%) | 37 (63%) | 63 (59%) | < 0.01 | |
Harm reduction practices | Avoid mixing with alcohol | 113 (22%) | 67 (26%) | 11 (13%) | 8 (14%) | 27 (26%) | 0.03 |
Avoid mixing with other drugs | 144 (28%) | 75 (29%) | 18 (22%) | 12 (20%) | 39 (37%) | 0.06 | |
Smell or taste my supply | 96 (19%) | 53 (20%) | 11 (13%) | 11 (19%) | 21 (20%) | 0.55 | |
Using with someone else | 169 (33%) | 102 (39%) | 17 (21%) | 15 (25%) | 35 (33%) | < 0.01 | |
Take smaller amounts | 115 (23%) | 113 (43%) | 35 (42%) | 26 (44%) | 49 (46%) | 0.95 | |
Go slow | 201 (40%) | 95 (36%) | 30 (36%) | 33 (56%) | 50 (47%) | 0.21 | |
Take a tester | 115 (23%) | 57 (22%) | 17 (21%) | 13 (22%) | 28 (26%) | 0.75 | |
Use fentanyl test strips | 90 (17%) | 47 (18%) | 10 (12%) | 13 (22%) | 20 (19%) | 0.44 | |
Keep naloxone nearby | 219 (43%) | 121 (46%) | 26 (31%) | 25 (42%) | 47 (44%) | 0.12 | |
Change drug supplier | 87 (17%) | 38 (15%) | 16 (19%) | 12 (20%) | 21 (20%) | 0.48 | |
Something elsed | 66 (13%) | 35 (13%) | 11 (13%) | 9 (15%) | 11 (10%) | 0.94 | |
Nothing | 38 (8%) | 21 (8%) | 5 (6%) | 4 (7%) | 8 (8%) | 0.81 |