Canada: U.S. Funding Will Help Sustain Vancouver Intravenous Drug Users Study

A five-year grant of more than $3 million from the U.S. National Institutes of Health will support the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study and fund a sub-study on at-risk youth, the British Columbia Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS announced Thursday.

Since 1996, VIDUS has tracked drug users in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, an area with one of the densest populations of IV drug users in North America. Co-principal investigator Thomas Kerr said adding the youth component to the study will help researchers understand what leads to IV drug use, the rate at which youth begin injecting, and what might prevent them from starting to inject. An estimated 2,500 street youths live in Vancouver.

The study will also assess the impact of crystal methamphetamine. "[Crystal] is a serious problem and early indications suggest the problem is getting worse," said Kerr. "There are serious health complications associated with crystal meth use and this study will help us gain a better understanding of the problem and the ways we can address it."

Vancouver provides a "unique setting" for studying IV drug users, said Kerr. "We have a very well set up Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS that has a proven track record in conducting research of this kind. We also have a very large HIV epidemic and we have a large, open drug scene," he noted.

VIDUS follows more than 1,500 drug users in the Downtown Eastside. "We have a very high follow-up rate with our study," said Kerr. "Participation has been great. Even when they spend time in jail or move to other cities, many still [check in]. We're also very good at finding them," Kerr added. The researchers aim to begin reporting results on the youth study within 18 months.

Between 1998 and 2001, VIDUS received $1.5 million in NIH funding to research the effect of a needle exchange on the local HIV epidemic.

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