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Table 2 Characteristics of caregivers (n = 27) in three communities in British Columbia

From: Becoming our young people’s case managers: caregivers’ experiences, needs, and ideas for improving opioid use treatments for young people using opioids

Characteristic a

N (%) / Mean ± SD

Number of participants in each community who responded to survey: a

 Prince George

6 (22)

 Vancouver

8 (30)

 Victoria

13 (48)

Gender

 Woman

16 (76)

 Man

5 (24)

Ethnicity

 Caucasian/White

15 (75)

 First Nations, Inuit, Métis

4 (20)

 Asian

1 (5)

Caregiver’s median age (Q1, Q3)

51 (47, 54)

Education

 Some college/university or less

9 (43)

 College/university degree

12 (57)

Characteristics of Young Person’s Substance Use

 Age when caregiver first learned of their opioid use

17 ± 3.56

 Frequency of non-medical opioid use during their period of use

  Daily

9 (43)

  Weekly

7 (33)

  Monthly

1 (5)

  Unsure

4 (19)

 Frequency of concurrent substance use during their period of opioid use (missing = 1) b:

  None

2 (10)

  Daily

8 (40)

  Weekly

6 (30)

  Monthly

1 (5)

 Unsure

3 (15)

 Currently using non-medical opioids (missing = 3)

  Yes

11 (61)

  No

3 (17)

  Unsure

4 (22)

 Types of Substance Use Treatment Accessed c:

  Counseling

18 (86)

  Peer support

6 (29)

  Case management

11 (58)

  Psychiatry

7 (33)

  Addictions medicine

12 (57)

  Opioid agonist treatment

8 (38)

  Private residential treatment setting

3 (14)

 Accessed more than 1 type of these treatments

17 (81)

 Mean number of different treatment types accessed

3.7 ± 1.4

  1. SD standard deviation. Q1 = 25th percentile, Q3 = 75th percentile
  2. aThe socio-demographic survey was voluntary and was not mandatory to be able to participate in the workshops. Response rate to the survey was 78% (21/27 completed)
  3. bIn reference to non-medical substance use, not including alcohol and cannabis
  4. cParticipant could choose more than one type of treatment