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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Stephen E. Lankenau, PhD¹, Bill Sanders, PhD¹, Jennifer Jackson Bloom, MPH², and Dodi Hathazi, BS². (1) Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California, 6430 W. Sunset Blvd., Suite 1500, Hollywood, CA 90028, 323-660-2450, slankenau@chla.usc.edu, (2) Division of Research on Children, Youth and Families, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, 6430 W. Sunset Blvd., Suite 1500, Hollywood, CA 90028

Young injection drug users face a range of health risks due to various risk factors associated with injection drug use, including homelessness, involvement in the street economy, and polydrug use. Few studies have followed a cohort of young IDUs to describe health risks occurring longitudinally. We recruited a cohort of 85 young ketamine injectors (aged 16 to 28 years old) in Los Angeles during 2005 and 2006, and interviewed each respondent up to five times (typically four months apart) during a two-year period. A qualitative interview guide focusing on recent ketamine use, homelessness, and sexual health was administered four times, and the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) – a standardized assessment of working memory – was administered once. The sample consisted of traveler homeless (64.4%), local homeless (27.1%), and housed (8.5%). Follow-up interviewers were conducted via telephone in over 25 towns and cities due to high rates of homelessness and mobility. Compared to baseline, 79.5% maintained consistent patterns of injection drug use at first follow-up, while 18.2% decreased use and 2.2% increased use. Subsequent reporting of ketamine injections following baseline were: 25.4% (first follow-up); 18.2% (second follow-up); and 23.1% (third follow-up). Working memory scores indicated that 66.6% tested in the “low/borderline” range while 33.3% tested in the “average/superior” range. Regarding sexual health, 77% of women and 55% of men reported a pregnancy or getting someone pregnant, while twelve surviving children lived in Los Angeles. Longitudinal research indicates that young ketamine IDUs encounter numerous health risks stemming from polydrug use, homelessness, and unplanned pregnancies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will be able to

• identify risk practices associated with ketamine injection;
• understand the utility of longitudinal research for researching high-risk youth;
• analyze different subgroups of high-risk youth

Keywords: Injection Drug Users, HIV Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No