Assessing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic impacts on the health of people who inject drugs using a novel data sharing model.

Jeanne Keruly, Nicole Crepaz, Kora Debeck, Chunki Fong, Edward Freeman, Nathan Woo Furukawa, Becky Genberg, Pamina Gorbach, Holly Hagan, Emalie Huriaux, Hermione Hurley, Hannah L F Cooper, Kathleen Kristensen, Gregory M Mcclain, Wing Yin Mok, Marley Reynoso, Steffanie Strathdee, Nicole Torigian, Chenziheng Allen Weng, Ryan Westergaard, April Young, Don C Des Jarlais, Anastasia Carter, Kanna Hayashi, Daniela Abramovitz, Shruti Mehta, Kate Buchacz, Pedro Mateu-Gelabert, Judith Feinberg, Natasha K Martin, Marianna Baum, Shenghan Lai, Nicole Luisi, Heather Bradley, Terri D Pigott, Sean T Allen, Alice Asher, Chelsea Austin, Tyler S Bartholomew, Amy Board, Basmattee Boodram, Annick Borquez, Kathryn A Brookmeyer, Janet Burnett

Journal: AIDS (London, England) 2025;39(4):434-447

PMID: 39612241

Free Full Text on PubMed Central View on PubMed

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Using an innovative data sharing model, we assessed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of people who inject drugs (PWID).

DESIGN

The PWID Data Collaborative was established in 2021 to promote data sharing across PWID studies in North America. Contributing studies submitted aggregate data on 23 standardized indicators during four time periods: prepandemic (March 2019 to February 2020), early-pandemic (March 2020 to February 2021), mid-pandemic (March 2021 to February 2022), and late pandemic (March 2022 to February 2023).

METHODS

We present study-specific and meta-analyzed estimates for the percentage of PWID who took medications for opioid use disorder, received substance use treatment, shared syringes or injection equipment, had a mental health condition, had been incarcerated, or had experienced houselessness. To examine change over time across indicators, we fit a random effects meta-regression model to prevalence estimates using time as a moderator.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies contributed estimates to the Data Collaborative on these indicators, representing 6213 PWID interviews. We observed minimal change across prevalence of the six indicators between the prepandemic (March 2019 to February 2020) and three subsequent time periods, overall or within individual studies. Considerable heterogeneity was observed across study-specific and time-specific estimates.

CONCLUSION

Limited pandemic-related change observed in indicators of PWID health is likely a result of policy and supportive service-related changes and may also reflect resilience among service providers and PWID themselves. The Data Collaborative is an unprecedented data sharing model with potential to greatly improve the quality and timeliness of data on the health of PWID.

Address: Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology.; Georgia State University School of Public Health, Department of Population Health Sciences, Atlanta, GA.; University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, La Jolla, CA.; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Baltimore, MD.; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.; University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences.; Florida International University R. Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Miami, FL.; University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, Division of Community Health Sciences, Chicago, IL.; Simon Fraser University, School of Public Policy, Vancouver, B.C. Canada.; West Virginia University Health Sciences, Morgantown, WV.; City University of New York School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Community Health and Social Sciences, New York, NY.; University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Lexington, KY.; University of California Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Los Angeles, CA.; New York University School of Global Public Health, New York, NY.; Simon Fraser University, Health Sciences, Burnaby, B.C., Canada.; Washington State Department of Health, Turnwater, WA.; University of Colorado School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Aurora, CO.; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases.; University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Baltimore, MD.; University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Division of Infectious Disease, Madison, WI, USA.; British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver, BC, Cananda.

DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004076

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MeSH Terms: Humans, COVID-19, Substance Abuse, Intravenous, Information Dissemination, SARS-CoV-2, North America, Pandemics, Opioid-Related Disorders