Native and Non-Native Individuals with Substance-Related Problems Accessing a Street Mobile Unit from 2016 To 2023: Results of a Longitudinal Study in Northern Italy.

Abstract

In this cohort study, we report the characteristics of people with substance use who turned to street mobile units operating in the drug scene of the metropolitan area of Bologna (Northern Italy) from 2016 to 2023, distinguishing between natives (i.e. those born in Italy) and non-natives (i.e. those born abroad). The results of our study confirm for Northern Italy the specific peculiarities reported in the literature on people who use drugs that access street mobile units and highlight some interesting aspects that could also be related to the constant increase in the number of non-native patients: the injecting of any substance and using opioids are decreasing; smoking is increasing among heroin users and injecting is decreasing among heroin and cocaine users. From the multivariate analysis it emerged that non-natives, compared to the natives, have a higher likelihood of using benzodiazepines and smoked heroin, and a lower likelihood of injecting heroin or cocaine. Constant monitoring at a national level is necessary to continue to analyse the characteristics and trends of people accessing territorial harm reduction services.