Grant: Pro. Gr.- PA: Human Development Child and Youth Health - Early Career Support

Overdose is the leading cause of death in British Columbia (BC) for youth aged 19-29 and second leading cause for youth aged 10-18. Our understanding of overdose events in BC and in other provinces has often been focused on adults. This means that there are large knowledge gaps around trends of youth overdose. It is also important that we consider information relating to the circumstances of overdose, including people's age, sex, health conditions, and their previous engagement with health care. This information can be used to develop services that are appropriate for the needs of youth and their communities. To fill knowledge gaps relating to overdose among youth in BC, this 4-year project will use a provincial health database that has health records including information on hospitalizations, doctor visits, and emergency department visits for all BC residents. This database also includes information on fatal and non-fatal overdoses and information about youth's health including information about their mental health and social well-being. This information will be used to achieve three objectives: (1) youth with various levels of overdose risk (e.g., no, low, moderate, high) will be identified; (2) pathways of service access before and after overdose events will be examined among youth with low, moderate, and high levels of OD risk; and (3) new services to improve care before and after overdose will be designed with key groups (e.g., youth, service providers). Through these research objectives and the experience and expertise of our team, project findings will shape the delivery of health services for youth at risk of overdose in BC.