Grant: Project Grant

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 or on sub-populations (for example, youth who inject drugs). This means that there are large knowledge gaps around trends of overdose across the entire youth population. It is also important that we consider information relating to the circumstances of overdose, including people's age, sex, gender, 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 youths' health including information about their mental health and social well-being. This information will be used to achieve three objectives: (1) identify youth with different levels of overdose risk; (2) examine pathways of service access before and after overdose events among youth with different levels of OD risk; and (3) design new services with key groups (for example, youth and family advisory boards and health service providers) to improve care after overdose. Through these research objectives and the experience and expertise of our team, which includes researchers, service providers, youth, family members, data stewards, decision makers, and trainees, project findings will shape the delivery of health services for youth at risk of overdose in BC.