Patricia M Spittal
Biographic Data
| ID | 207290 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Patricia M Spittal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Patricia M |
| FAMILY NAME | Spittal |
| SIGNATURE | SPITTAL P M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of British Columbia |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1911-2056 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 44 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 91 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 44 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Navigating concurrent public health emergencies
Connection and resilience are critical to the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples who use drugs (IPWUD): connection to family, cultural supports, safer coping mechanisms and circles of care. Urban IPWUD are more likely to face multiple harms from emergency public health restrictions alongside ongoing toxic drug and housing crises in British Columbia. This paper aims to amplify the experiences of urban IPWUD as they navigated the COVID-19 p…
The Cedar Project
Racism continues to drive health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. This study focuses on racism experienced by young Indigenous people who have used drugs in British Columbia (BC), and predictors of interpersonal racism. Cedar Project is a community-governed cohort study involving young Indigenous people who use drugs in Vancouver and Prince George, BC. This cross-sectional study included data collected between …
Cango Lyec (Healing the Elephant)
Cango Lyec participants displayed lower than previously reported yet significant levels of probable PTSD and depression. Based on findings from this study, providing trauma-informed care, ensuring food and housing security, eliminating gender-based violence, and reintegrating former abductees remain important tasks to facilitate post-conflict rehabilitation in Northern Uganda
Cedar Project
The Cedar Project is an interdisciplinary, community-driven research project responding to the crises of HIV and Hepatitis C infection and contributing to the healing of young Indigenous people who use or have used drugs. We are a collective membership of Indigenous Elders, health/social service experts, researchers, and non-Indigenous allies. We situate our work in the context of strength, resilience, and rights to self-determination for Indigen…
The Cedar Project
Another thing to live for”
There are several pragmatic ways to integrate Truth and Reconciliation as well as Indigenous concepts of whole-person wellness into the HCV cascade of care. By doing so, HCV treatment providers have an opportunity to create greater equity and support long-term wellness of Indigenous patients
Ethnicity and HIV vulnerabilities among men who have sex with men in China
Ethnic affiliation can define sociocultural boundaries and contribute to the HIV vulnerabilities faced by men who have sex with men (MSM). This study investigated the influence of ethnic affiliation on HIV vulnerabilities among MSM in North China. Our study analyzed a cross-sectional survey of MSM (n = 398) in two major North China cities. We examined associations between ethnic affiliation and (a) HIV status, (b) sexual behaviors and experiences…
The Cedar Project
Culturally safe mental wellness interventions are urgently needed to address childhood trauma and harmful coping strategies that exacerbate distress among young Indigenous people who use drugs
Understanding the Life Histories of Pregnant-Involved Young Aboriginal Women With Substance Use Experiences in Three Canadian Cities
Despite attention paid to substance use during pregnancy, understandings of young Aboriginal women's experiences based on their perspectives have been virtually absent in the published literature. This study's objective was to understand the life experiences of pregnant-involved young Aboriginal women with alcohol and drugs. Semi-structured interviews to gather life histories were conducted with 23 young Aboriginal women who had experiences with …
The Cedar Project
Young people in this study have faced multiple complex challenges to their strength. However, cultural foundations continue to function as buffers that protect young Indigenous people from severe health outcomes, including vulnerability to HIV and HCV infection
The Cedar Project
The Cedar Project
This study explored trends of sexual assault and associated risk factors within a cohort of young Aboriginal women who used drugs in Vancouver and Prince George, Canada, between 2003 and 2010. Results demonstrated no change in the trend of sexual assault over time; however, odds of sexual assault were significantly higher for women who had at least one parent who attended residential school, had experienced childhood sexual abuse, were involved i…
The Cedar Project
HIV vulnerabilities and coercive sex at same-sex sexual debut among men who have sex with men in Beijing, China
Few studies have examined coercive sex and HIV vulnerabilities among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. The present study seeks to compare individual characteristics between MSM who did and did not experience coercive sex at their MSM sexual debut and to identify HIV risk factors correlated with coercive sex at MSM sexual debut. In 2007, we recruited 167 MSM in Beijing, China by peer-referred social network sampling. Each participant then …
War and HIV
Despite growing knowledge of the dynamics of HIV infection during conflict, far less is known about the period that follows cessation of hostilities and its implications for population health. This study sought to fill a lacuna in epidemiological evidence by examining HIV infection and related vulnerabilities of young people living in resource-scarce, post-emergency transit camps that are now home to thousands of displaced people following two de…
The Cedar Project
Little information exists on the use of condoms as protective barriers to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among indigenous people in Canada. This study explores risk factors of inconsistent condom use (during consensual sex) over time among participants in the Cedar Project, a prospective cohort study of indigenous young people living in Vancouver and Prince George, British Columbia, who use drugs. Due to the serial measurements for each s…
Comparison of HIV-related vulnerabilities between former child soldiers and children never abducted by the LRA in northern Uganda
This study persuasively demonstrates that all young people in northern Ugandan have been similarly affected by HIV infection during war and displacement. Post-conflict programme planners must therefore abandon rudimentary targeting practices based on abductees as a high-profile category. Instead, they must develop evidence-based HIV interventions that are commensurate with young people's specific needs. As such programmes will be less stigmatizin…
The Cedar Project
Health effects of perceived racial and religious bullying among urban adolescents in China
Research concerning ethnocultural bullying and adolescent health in China remains extremely limited. This study among Chinese urban adolescents examines associations between ethnocultural bullying and eight health-related outcomes: suicidal ideation, suicide planning, depressive symptomology, anxiety symptomatology, fighting, injury intentionally inflicted by another, smoking and moderate/heavy alcohol consumption. Data were obtained from the Wor…
In the face of war
BACKGROUND: Adolescent girls are an overlooked group within conflict-affected populations and their sexual health needs are often neglected. Girls are disproportionately at risk of HIV and other STIs in times of conflict, however the lack of recognition of their unique sexual health needs has resulted in a dearth of distinctive HIV protection and prevention responses. Departing from the recognition of a paucity of literature on the distinct vulne…
The Cedar Project
This study contributes to the limited body of research addressing HCV infection among Aboriginal people in Canada. The HCV incidence rate among Cedar Project participants who were new initiates of injection drug use underscores an urgent need for HCV and injection prevention and safety strategies aimed at supporting young people surviving injection drug use and sex work in both cities. Young people must be afforded the opportunity to provide lead…
The Cedar Project
Sexual mixing patterns among social networks of HIV-positive and HIV-negative Beijing men who have sex with men
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are of immediate concern in China's HIV epidemic. In 2008, approximately 2.5-6.5% of China's eight million MSM were HIV positive, while MSM represented 11% of all new HIV cases. Two factors that will in-part determine HIV-transmission dynamics among MSM, are sexual mixing patterns and the social networks which shape them. Sexual mixing patterns and social networks of Chinese MSM, however, remain poorly understood w…
War, Displacement and Productive Occupations in Northern Uganda
Prolonged war and internal displacement in Northern Uganda forced nearly 90% of the population out of their lives as rural agriculturalists and into displacement camps, where they experienced both occupational change and occupational deprivation. Drawing on data from two applied ethnographic health research studies, one conducted during war time and the second during resettlement, this paper presents an analysis of occupation-related narratives e…
Characteristics and Response to Treatment among Aboriginal People Receiving Heroin-assisted Treatment
The Cedar Project
Unstable housing, associated risk behaviour, and increased risk for HIV infection among injection drug users
Sexual violence among a cohort of injection drug users
War, Displacement and Productive Occupations in Northern Uganda
Prolonged war and internal displacement in Northern Uganda forced nearly 90% of the population out of their lives as rural agriculturalists and into displacement camps, where they experienced both occupational change and occupational deprivation. Drawing on data from two applied ethnographic health research studies, one conducted during war time and the second during resettlement, this paper presents an analysis of occupation-related narratives e…
Requiring Help Injecting as a Risk Factor for HIV Infection in the Vancouver Epidemic
HIV and Hepatitis C Outbreaks Among High-risk Youth in Vancouver Demands a Public Health Response
The Cedar Project
Health effects of perceived racial and religious bullying among urban adolescents in China
Research concerning ethnocultural bullying and adolescent health in China remains extremely limited. This study among Chinese urban adolescents examines associations between ethnocultural bullying and eight health-related outcomes: suicidal ideation, suicide planning, depressive symptomology, anxiety symptomatology, fighting, injury intentionally inflicted by another, smoking and moderate/heavy alcohol consumption. Data were obtained from the Wor…
Peer Support using a Mobile Access Van Promotes Safety and Harm Reduction Strategies among Sex Trade Workers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
Understanding the Life Histories of Pregnant-Involved Young Aboriginal Women With Substance Use Experiences in Three Canadian Cities
Despite attention paid to substance use during pregnancy, understandings of young Aboriginal women's experiences based on their perspectives have been virtually absent in the published literature. This study's objective was to understand the life experiences of pregnant-involved young Aboriginal women with alcohol and drugs. Semi-structured interviews to gather life histories were conducted with 23 young Aboriginal women who had experiences with …
The Cedar Project
This study explored trends of sexual assault and associated risk factors within a cohort of young Aboriginal women who used drugs in Vancouver and Prince George, Canada, between 2003 and 2010. Results demonstrated no change in the trend of sexual assault over time; however, odds of sexual assault were significantly higher for women who had at least one parent who attended residential school, had experienced childhood sexual abuse, were involved i…
Needle exchange and difficulty with needle access during an ongoing HIV epidemic
Intensive injection cocaine use as the primary risk factor in the Vancouver HIV-1 epidemic
OBJECTIVES: The explosive and ongoing injecting drug use-related HIV-1 epidemic in Vancouver continues to receive international attention. This study was conducted to determine how patterns of cocaine use influence the risk of HIV infection. METHODS: The Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study is an open prospective cohort of injecting drug users that began in May 1996. At enrollment and at semi-annual follow-up visits an interviewer administers a d…
Surviving the sex trade
In Canada, very little is known about the factors and processes that cause drug-related harm among female intravenous drug users (IDUs). Women who inject drugs and participate in the survival sex trade are considered to be at increased risk for sexual and drug-related harms, including HIV infection. Between September 1999 and September 2000, women participating in the VIDUS cohort in Vancouver and the St. Luc Cohort in Montreal completed intervie…
Maximising the effectiveness of harm reduction programmes
Aids in 2003
Requiring Help Injecting as a Risk Factor for HIV Infection in the Vancouver Epidemic
Sexual violence among a cohort of injection drug users
How otherwise dedicated Aids prevention workers come to support state-sponsored shortage of clean syringes in Vancouver, Canada
The potential health and economic impact of implementing a medically prescribed heroin program among Canadian injection drug users
Unstable housing, associated risk behaviour, and increased risk for HIV infection among injection drug users
Factors associated with sex-trade involvement among female injection drug users in a Canadian setting
Background: We undertook this study to evaluate the factors associated with sex-trade involvement among a cohort of female injection drug users (IDUs).Methods: We performed a prospective analysis of factors associated with sex-trade involvement among female participants enrolled in a prospective cohort study of Vancouver injection drug users. We examined HIV-status during follow-up and measured time updated social, sex- and drug-related variables…
HIV and Hepatitis C Outbreaks Among High-risk Youth in Vancouver Demands a Public Health Response
Drastic elevations in mortality among female injection drug users in a Canadian setting
The health and social conditions of women living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has recently been the focus of substantial international attention. Since few studies have examined rates and correlates of death among addicted women in Canada, we have characterized patterns of mortality among female injection drug users (IDUs) in Vancouver. The Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS) is a prospective open cohort study of IDUs. The analyses p…
Inadequacies in antiretroviral therapy use among Aboriginal and other Canadian populations
We undertook this study to provide a profile of Aboriginal people initiating antiretroviral therapy and their response to treatment. Aboriginal peoples were identified through self-report. Baseline socio-demographics and risk factors were compared between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants as were baseline factors associated with two consecutive plasma viral load measures below 500 copies/ml using contingency table analysis. Multivariate …
Impacts of intensified police activity on injection drug users
Women and drugs across the globe
The Cedar Project
The Cedar Project
Peer Support using a Mobile Access Van Promotes Safety and Harm Reduction Strategies among Sex Trade Workers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
Characteristics and Response to Treatment among Aboriginal People Receiving Heroin-assisted Treatment
Sexual mixing patterns among social networks of HIV-positive and HIV-negative Beijing men who have sex with men
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are of immediate concern in China's HIV epidemic. In 2008, approximately 2.5-6.5% of China's eight million MSM were HIV positive, while MSM represented 11% of all new HIV cases. Two factors that will in-part determine HIV-transmission dynamics among MSM, are sexual mixing patterns and the social networks which shape them. Sexual mixing patterns and social networks of Chinese MSM, however, remain poorly understood w…
War, Displacement and Productive Occupations in Northern Uganda
Prolonged war and internal displacement in Northern Uganda forced nearly 90% of the population out of their lives as rural agriculturalists and into displacement camps, where they experienced both occupational change and occupational deprivation. Drawing on data from two applied ethnographic health research studies, one conducted during war time and the second during resettlement, this paper presents an analysis of occupation-related narratives e…
In the face of war
BACKGROUND: Adolescent girls are an overlooked group within conflict-affected populations and their sexual health needs are often neglected. Girls are disproportionately at risk of HIV and other STIs in times of conflict, however the lack of recognition of their unique sexual health needs has resulted in a dearth of distinctive HIV protection and prevention responses. Departing from the recognition of a paucity of literature on the distinct vulne…
The Cedar Project
This study contributes to the limited body of research addressing HCV infection among Aboriginal people in Canada. The HCV incidence rate among Cedar Project participants who were new initiates of injection drug use underscores an urgent need for HCV and injection prevention and safety strategies aimed at supporting young people surviving injection drug use and sex work in both cities. Young people must be afforded the opportunity to provide lead…
The Cedar Project
Medicine (39 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (32 works) · Demography (25 works) · Sociology (23 works) · Psychiatry (22 works) · Environmental health (21 works) · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (18 works) · Psychology (17 works) · Demography (16 works) · Cohort (13 works)