Accessing drug treatment programs in Atlantic Canada: the experiences of people who use substances

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of study participants (N = 55).

Demographics	N	%
Self-identified gender
Men	32	58.2
Women (not everyone identified as cisgender)	23	41.8
Self-identified ethnicity *
White/Caucasian	47	85.5
African descent	1	1.8
Indigenous	3	5.4
Other (e.g. individuals who self-identified as having multiple ethnic identities)	4	7.3
Age range
19–29 years	19	34.5
30–39 years	18	32.7
40–49 years	15	27.3
50–59 years	3	5.5
Length of time using drugs
Less than 1 year	1	1.8
1–5 years	9	16.4
6–10 years	10	18.2
11 or more years	33	60.0
No information provided	2	3.6
Enough money to meet day-to-day needs over last two years (e.g. food, shelter)
Yes	21	38.2
No	27	49.1
Not sure	6	10.9
No information provided	1	1.8
Place of residence
In city	44	80.0
Outside of city	10	18.2
No information provided	1	1.8

Please note the following:

*We asked participants, ‘Can you tell me your ethnicity?’.

Responses provided may reflect racial identity, and in some instances individuals may have understood the terms ethnicity and racial identity as interchangeable.

Table 2. Summary of key facilitators and barriers to access and retention in drug treatment programs.

Type of environment	Facilitators to access and retention (or what was helpful)	Barriers to access and retention (or what was not helpful)
1: Policy and practice environment	Quick and easy intake Accommodations for/acceptance of substance use and specific health needs	Requirements to ‘get in’ to treatment Rigid policies and practices Hours of operation of pharmacies/clinics
2: Physical environment	Ready physical availability Physical layout of pharmacy	Distance to facilities and limited spaces Physical layout of treatment/testing spaces
3: Social environment	Supportive and understanding staff & structured and protective social environment	Judgmental attitudes and negative conversations/social interactions
4: Resource environment	Meetings, ‘good’ food and other amenities	Boredom and poor--quality food

Data availability statement

Study participants did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so data are not publicly available.