Grant: Operating Grant - HIV/AIDS CBR Program - General

This research is driven by the expressed need of community partners for age-specific data relating to the HIV- and HCV-related prevention needs of youth who smoke crack. The lack of targeted health care and HIV and HCV prevention support services for people who smoke crack is particularly concerning considering the epidemiologic evidence demonstrating escalating engagement in crack smoking and virologic evidence documenting the HIV- and HCV-related risks associated with this practice. Street-involved youth are particularly vulnerable to crack use initiation. In Ottawa, 64% of street-involved youth reported using crack and/or cocaine without injecting. Youth engagement is an essential component of this project, as it is through the knowledge provided by youth that we will create the research tools, develop effective recruitment strategies, appropriately understanding the research findings and design a targeted plan for the dissemination of findings. As such, youth under 25 who have experience with crack (direct or indirect) will be recruited to join the Project Team, which will serve as a working group to inform the research process and ordering of priorities. As a component of each Project Team meeting, youth will participate in a guided debriefing session in order to provide them with a safe space to share their feelings, reflect on their experiences in the meetings and make suggestions for ways of improving the process. This study will employ a sequential mixed methods design. We will use qualitative interviews to gather the perspectives of youth who have been identified as holding insight into the particular risk environments occupied by certain groups of youth who smoke crack. This data will inform the development of the quantitative analysis plan and survey tool. We will then carry out a quantitative survey to document engagement in HIV- and HCV-related risk behaviours and practices that may place youth who smoke crack at risk of HIV and HCV infection.