Research Topics
| B FischerSummaryAffiliation: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Country: Canada Publications
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Detail Information
Publications
Illicit opioid use in Canada: comparing social, health, and drug use characteristics of untreated users in five cities (OPICAN study)Benedikt Fischer
University of Toronto and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
J Urban Health 82:250-66. 2005..Differentiated interventions are required...- Non-medical use of prescription opioids and public health in Canada: an urgent call for research and interventions developmentBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
Can J Public Health 99:182-4. 2008..g., undermining access to pain treatment)... - Safer injection facilities (SIFs) for injection drug users (IDUs) in Canada. A review and call for an evidence-focused pilot trialBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Room 2036, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1
Can J Public Health 93:336-8. 2002 - [Willing to undergo hepatitis C treatment in a sample of injection drug users in Toronto, Canada]B Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
Presse Med 34:1209-12. 2005..Little research has been undertaken in order to discover the willingness of IDUs to receive HCV treatment, however... - Determinants of overdose incidents among illicit opioid users in 5 Canadian citiesBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont
CMAJ 171:235-9. 2004..In this study, we examined the occurrence of and the factors associated with nonfatal overdoses within a Canadian sample of illicit opioid users not enrolled in treatment at the time of study recruitment... - Injection drug use and the hepatitis C virus: considerations for a targeted treatment approach--the case study of CanadaBenedikt Fischer
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
J Urban Health 81:428-47. 2004..The article concludes that treatment of HCV-infected illicit drug users is both feasible and may be necessary to reduce transmission and adverse outcomes in this high-risk population... - Treatment for hepatitis C virus and cannabis use in illicit drug user patients: implications and questionsBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia CAR BC, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 18:1039-42. 2006.... - Screening for antisocial personality disorder in drug users--a qualitative exploratory study on feasibilityBenedikt Fischer
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 12:151-6. 2003..Questions were seen as sex-biased. Provision of support to deal with potential emotional problems should be supplied. Potential revision should be considered to include the female perspective in the screen... - Methadone treatment in Ontario after the 1996 regulation reforms. Results of a physician surveyBenedikt Fischer
Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ann Med Interne (Paris) 153:2S11-21. 2002..However, some relevant concerns about the current system exist and are discussed... - Drug-related overdose deaths in British Columbia and Ontario, 1992-2004Benedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 97:384-7. 2006.... - Understanding the parameters of non-medical use of prescription drugs: moving beyond mere numbersBenedikt Fischer
University of Victoria, Canada
Addiction 102:1931-2. 2007 - Comparing opiate users in methadone treatment with untreated opiate users: results of a follow-up study with a Toronto opiate user cohortB Fischer
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 90:299-303. 1999..Research and policy implications are discussed... - Reduction in injection-related HIV risk after 6 months in a low-threshold methadone treatment programPeggy Millson
HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada
AIDS Educ Prev 19:124-36. 2007..Our findings suggest that low-threshold MMT programs can reduce the risk of HIV without the enforcement of abstinence-based policies... - Determinants of health-related quality of life of opiate users at entry to low-threshold methadone programsPeggy Millson
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Eur Addict Res 12:74-82. 2006..The aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory analysis of factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among opiate users at entry to low-threshold methadone treatment... - Comparing injecting and non-injecting illicit opioid users in a multisite Canadian sample (OPICAN Cohort)Benedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Eur Addict Res 12:230-9. 2006..Our results reinforce the need to explore potential interventions aimed at preventing the transition from non-injectors to injecting, or facilitating the transition of injectors to non-injecting, as initiated in several other contexts... - Comparing heroin users and prescription opioid users in a Canadian multi-site population of illicit opioid usersBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, Canada
Drug Alcohol Rev 27:625-32. 2008.... - The case for a heroin substitution treatment trial in CanadaB Fischer
Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 88:367-70. 1997..Such a trial should have the goal of investigating the potential of heroin substitution to significantly reduce the health and social costs to Canadians from illicit opiate use... - Fentanyl use among street drug users in Toronto, Canada: behavioural dynamics and public health implicationsMichelle Firestone
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
Int J Drug Policy 20:90-2. 2009..g., HCV, HIV) transmission and/or overdose. Consequently, prevalence and practices of Fentanyl use by street users require closer monitoring, targeted interventions and further research regarding risks and outcomes... - Hepatitis C, illicit drug use and public health: does Canada really have a viable plan?Benedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 97:485-8. 2006..In order to reduce the HCV disease burden, Canada needs to reconsider the scope, delivery and resourcing of both preventive and treatment interventions targeting the primary risk population of illicit drug users... - Crack use as a public health problem in Canada: call for an evaluation of 'safer crack use kits'Emma Haydon
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 96:185-8. 2005..Systematic evaluation of the crack kits is urgently needed in order to produce definitive evidence of their health and other benefits, and to allow for evidence-based program and policy decisions in the interest of public health... - Patterns of opioid and cocaine co-use: a descriptive study in a Canadian sample of untreated opioid-dependent individualsFrancesco Leri
Department of Psychology, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, University of Guelph, ON, Canada
Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 13:303-10. 2005..These findings indicate that different individuals display different patterns of opioids and cocaine co-use... - Social costs of untreated opioid dependenceR Wall
Social, Prevention, and Health Policy Research Department, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, London, ON, Canada
J Urban Health 77:688-722. 2000..0%) and the utilization of health care (6.1%). Applying the $13,100 cost to the estimated 8,000 to 13,000 users and 2.456 million residents living in Toronto yields a range of social cost between $43 and $69 per capita... - An overview of illegal opioid use and health services utilization in CanadaS Popova
Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont, Canada
Public Health 120:320-8. 2006..Comparative data across provinces and territories is almost entirely absent. This study was designed to provide an overview of illegal opioid use and health services utilization among illegal opioid users across Canada... - Predictors of methadone maintenance treatment utilization in a multisite cohort of illicit opioid users (OPICAN)Benedikt Fischer
Center for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
J Subst Abuse Treat 34:340-6. 2008..This study highlights potential factors relevant for improved MMT uptake and illustrates possible reductions of drug use related to MMT... - Heroin-assisted treatment as a response to the public health problem of opiate dependenceBenedikt Fischer
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, McMurrich Bldg, 109C, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
Eur J Public Health 12:228-34. 2002.... - How many people in Canada use prescription opioids non-medically in general and street drug using populations?Svetlana Popova
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
Can J Public Health 100:104-8. 2009..This study aimed to estimate the number of non-medical prescription opioid (PO) users in the general and street drug using populations in Canada... - Crack across Canada: Comparing crack users and crack non-users in a Canadian multi-city cohort of illicit opioid usersBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Univrersity of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Addiction 101:1760-70. 2006..To examine possible differences between crack users and crack non-users across Canada... - Prevalence and associated factors of hepatitis C infection (HCV) in a multi-site Canadian population of illicit opioid and other drug users (OPICAN)Michelle Firestone Cruz
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 98:130-3. 2007..Using data from a multi-site cohort study of illicit opioid users in five Canadian cities (OPICAN), this paper explores the prevalence and predictors of HCV status in this high-risk population... - Factors predicting 2-year retention in methadone maintenance treatment for opioid dependenceCarol J Strike
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2S1
Addict Behav 30:1025-8. 2005..In comparison with other studies, these analyses show much higher rates of retention in methadone treatment but suggest that repeat episodes may not be as beneficial as existing research suggests... - Heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) a decade later: a brief update on science and politicsBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
J Urban Health 84:552-62. 2007.... - Using latent class analysis (LCA) to analyze patterns of drug use in a population of illegal opioid usersNeerav Monga
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S1, Canada
Drug Alcohol Depend 88:1-8. 2007..The objective of this paper is to empirically determine a categorization of illegal opioid users in Canada in order to describe and analyze drug use patterns within this population... - Public opinion towards supervised injection facilities and heroin-assisted treatment in Ontario, CanadaMichelle Firestone Cruz
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
Int J Drug Policy 18:54-61. 2007..Given the current political climate and the tentative position of SIFs and HAT in Canada, understanding the public's opinion is crucial for the feasibility and long-term sustainability of these interventions... - Increasing prevalence of cocaine as the primary detoxification diagnosis among admissions presenting with current intravenous drug use: a review of detoxification records from northern British Columbia, 1999-2005Russell C Callaghan
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 99:178-81. 2008..This study sought to document the trends in drug use among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in northern British Columbia, and to discuss the public health implications... - Compulsory drug treatment in Canada: historical origins and recent developmentsBenedikt Fischer
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Ont, Canada
Eur Addict Res 8:61-8. 2002.... - Canadian illicit opiate users' views on methadone and other opiate prescription treatment: an exploratory qualitative studyBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Subst Use Misuse 37:495-522. 2002.... - Eyes wide shut?--A conceptual and empirical critique of methadone maintenance treatmentBenedikt Fischer
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Eur Addict Res 11:1-9; discussion 10-4. 2005..Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been the 'gold standard' pharmacotherapy treatment for illicit opioid dependence for over 30 years. It has been widely evaluated, and is generally claimed to be 'effective'... - Nonmedical use of prescription opioids: furthering a meaningful research agendaBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addictions Research, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
J Pain 9:490-3; discussion 494-6. 2008..Such motives could relate to factors instrinsic or extrinsic to the user, yet their understanding is crucial for the devising of evidence-based interventions... - Self-perceived health among Canadian opiate users: a comparison to the general population and to other chronic disease populationsPeggy E Millson
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 95:99-103. 2004.... - The costs of alcohol, illegal drugs, and tobacco in Canada, 2002Jurgen Rehm
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Room 2035B, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S1, Canada
J Stud Alcohol Drugs 68:886-95. 2007..The aim of this study was to estimate costs attributable to substance use and misuse in Canada in 2002... - Hepatitis C virus transmission among oral crack users: viral detection on crack paraphernaliaBenedikt Fischer
Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, Victoria, Canada
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 20:29-32. 2008..To this end, this exploratory study sought to detect HCV on crack-use paraphernalia used by street crack users... - Prescription drug abuse in Canada and the diversion of prescription drugs into the illicit drug marketEmma Haydon
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Can J Public Health 96:459-61. 2005.... - Multiple viral hepatitis in injection drug users and associated risk factorsJens Reimer
Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
J Gastroenterol Hepatol 22:80-5. 2007.... - Drug treatment courts in Canada: an evidence-based reviewDaniel Werb
HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev 12:12-7. 2007.... - Health and social services accessed by a cohort of Canadian illicit opioid users outside of treatmentLina Noël
Institut National de Sante Publique du Quebec, Beauport, QC
Can J Public Health 97:166-70. 2006..To examine the use of social and health services by illicit opioid users outside of treatment in five Canadian cities ('OPICAN' cohort)... - Feasibility and outcome of HCV treatment in a Canadian federal prison populationJohn Farley
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Am J Public Health 95:1737-9. 2005..HCV treatment in correctional inmates is feasible and effective... - Barriers associated with the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection among illicit drug usersJason Grebely
Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Drug Alcohol Depend 93:141-7. 2008..Illicit drug users account for the majority of cases of HCV infection in the developed world, but few have received treatment... - Substitution therapy for heroin addictionJames Bell
The Langton Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Subst Use Misuse 37:1149-78. 2002.... - Changes in illicit opioid use across CanadaBenedikt Fischer
CMAJ 175:1385. 2006 - Illicit opioid use and treatment for opioid dependence: challenges for Canada and beyondBenedikt Fischer
Can J Psychiatry 51:621-3. 2006 - Illicit opioid use and its key characteristics: a select overview and evidence from a Canadian multisite cohort of illicit opioid users (OPICAN)Benedikt Fischer
Public Health and Policy Unit, Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, Victoria
Can J Psychiatry 51:624-34. 2006..To summarize key characteristics and consequences of illicit opioid use from the literature and to present corresponding data from a multisite sample of illicit opioid users in 5 Canadian cities (OPICAN study)... - Crack use in North American cities: the neglected 'epidemic'Benedikt Fischer
Addiction 102:1340-1. 2007 - Prostitutes are people tooMichael Goodyear
Lancet 366:1264-5. 2005 - Injection drug use, multiple hepatitis virus infections, and migration: a German studyJens Reimer
Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Subst Use Misuse 42:1353-65. 2007..Low-threshold culture-sensitive drug user treatment programs should be implemented and evaluated. The study's limitations are noted... - Illicit opioid use in the 21st century: witnessing a paradigm shift?Benedikt Fischer
Addiction 102:499-501. 2007 - Dealing with prostitution in CanadaBenedikt Fischer
CMAJ 172:13-4; author reply 14. 2005