Drug type and high risk behaviors associated with health-care utilization among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Background

This study aimed to identify socio-demographic determinants, risky behaviors and type of drug use, and the association with visiting by general practitioners (GP) in the last 12 months or outpatient service use among people who inject drugs (PWID).

Methods

Studies in English published before November 1 2021, were searched for on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on the factors associated with visiting by GP or outpatient service use among PWID.

Results

After a detailed assessment of over 17,348 papers, a total of 13 studies met the eligibility criteria. Greater odds of visits to the GP in the last 12 months or outpatient service use was associated with (i) being younger, (ii) being female, (iii) employment status, (iv) having public health insurance, (v) individuals who shared needles, (vi) individuals who were prescribed benzodiazepines, (vii) history of taking prescribed mental health medications, (viii) individuals who got methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and (X) individuals who had used primary care services.

Conclusion

The present research findings highlighted that a significant proportion of the study participants used GP or outpatient service use/outpatient psychiatrist, suggesting that the focus should not be restricted to PWID.

KEYWORDS:

• General practitioners
• outpatient service use
• people who inject drugs
• benzodiazepine use
• cocaine use

Author contributions

BA. Conceived the study BA. collected all data. RM, and BA analyzed and interpreted the data. BA, AB, EA, and PH. drafted the manuscript. All authors commented on the drafts of the manuscript and approved the final copy of the paper for submission.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was an analysis of preexisting literature and did not use human subjects.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-for-profit sectors.