Join us for the upcoming FIU-RCMI Research In Progess Seminar, Developing a Culturally Appropriate Life History Calendar to Measure Substance Use Trajectories Among Indigenous People Who Use Injection Drugs, facilitated by FIU-RCMI Pilot Grantee Dr. Michael Anastario. 

In this talk, Dr. Anastario will discuss the syndemic of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and opioid use disorder (OUD) among Indigenous people in the United States (US). Indigenous people who use injection drugs (IPWIDs) experience elevated risks for HCV, OUD, and their harmful consequences. This pilot study aims to assess multiple lifetime substance use in quantitative behavioral life history calendar (LHC) data with 40 Assiniboine and Sioux IPWIDs. Analytically, LHC data can be used to analyze sequences of substance use across multiple participants to elucidate affinity typologies between social actors who do not necessarily have physical interaction but shared experiences that emerge through synchronous acts.

In this pilot study, the validity of lifetime recall of substances used via life history calendar (LHC) will first be explored, followed by an evaluation of the process of LHC administration with IPWID participants and LHC interviewers. Finally, IPWID substance use sequences will be examined over the life course using social sequence analysis.