- Overview
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I am a social scientist who studies how young people and their caregivers navigate substance use and care in the context of multiple public health crisis, including the overdose and housing crises.
- Publications
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Intersecting transitions among 2S/LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness: A scoping review
Children and Youth Services Review
Trevor Goodyear and Koharu Loulou Chayama and John L. Oliffe and Hannah Kia and Danya Fast and Caroline Mniszak and Rod Knight and Emily Jenkins
DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107355
01/2024Staying Together No Matter What: Becoming Young Parents on the Streets of Vancouver
Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry
Danya Fast and Reith Charlesworth and Madison Thulien and Andrea Krüsi and Jane Buxton and Sarah West and Corrina Chase and Daniel Manson
DOI: 10.1007/s11013-022-09813-1
12/2023“They are always focusing on the person who is doing the worst”: Exploring how crisis shapes young people's pathways in and out of supportive housing in Vancouver, Canada
Social Science & Medicine
Daniel Manson and Danya Fast
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116091
08/2023Using photovoice to understand experiences of opioid use among sexual and gender minority youth in Vancouver, Canada
Culture, Health & Sexuality
Trevor Goodyear and Olivier Ferlatte and Danya Fast and Travis Salway and Emily Jenkins and Samantha Robinson and Rod Knight
DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2022.2079153
05/2023Risk mitigation guidance and safer supply prescribing among young people who use drugs in the context of COVID-19 and overdose emergencies
International Journal of Drug Policy
Karen Giang and Reith Charlesworth and Madison Thulien and Alanna Mulholland and Brittany Barker and Rupinder Brar and Bernie Pauly and Danya Fast
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104023
05/2023‘I turn to my closest friends for support’: queer youth navigating mental health during COVID-19
Culture, Health & Sexuality
Rodney Stehr and Danya Fast and Sereana Naepi and Rod Knight
DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2023.2183263
03/2023Methadone Maintenance Treatment Discontinuation Among Young People who use Opioids in Vancouver, Canada,Cessation du traitement d’entretien à la méthadone chez les jeunes gens qui utilisent des opioïdes à Vancouver, Canada
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Pilarinos, A. and Kwa, Y. and Joe, R. and Dong, H. and Grant, C. and Fast, D. and Buxton, J.A. and DeBeck, K.
DOI: 10.1177/07067437221136468
2023Autonomy and (In)Capacity to Consent in Adolescent Substance Use Treatment and Care
Journal of Adolescent Health
Goodyear, T. and Jenkins, E. and Knight, R. and Sedgemore, K.-O. and White, M. and Culham, T. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.031
2023Interventions to Reduce Opioid Use in Youth At-Risk and in Treatment for Substance Use Disorders: A Scoping Review
The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Stephanie A. Nairn and Marion Audet and Sherry H. Stewart and Lisa D. Hawke and Jason Y. Isaacs and Joanna Henderson and Rebecca Saah and Rod Knight and Danya Fast and Faria Khan and Alice Lam and Patricia Conrod
DOI: 10.1177/07067437221089810
12/2022Harm reduction calls to action from young people who use drugs on the streets of Vancouver and Lisbon
Harm Reduction Journal
Can{\^e}do, J. and Sedgemore, K.-O. and Ebbert, K. and Anderson, H. and Dykeman, R. and Kincaid, K. and Dias, C. and Silva, D. and Charlesworth, R. and Knight, R. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1186/s12954-022-00607-7
2022COVID-19 vaccine intention among young adults: Comparative results from a cross-sectional study in Canada and France
Vaccine
Coulaud, P.-J. and Ablona, A. and Bolduc, N. and Fast, D. and Bertrand, K. and Ward, J.K. and Greyson, D. and Jauffret-Roustide, M. and Knight, R.
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.02.085
2022The generative potential of mess in community-based participatory research with young people who use(d) drugs in Vancouver
Harm Reduction Journal
Thulien, M. and Anderson, H. and Douglas, S. and Dykeman, R. and Horne, A. and Howard, B. and Sedgemore, K. and Charlesworth, R. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1186/s12954-022-00615-7
2022Characterizing the Landscape of Service Provider Needs and Gaps in Services during the Canadian Youth Polysubstance Use Health Crisis
Canadian Journal of Addiction
Nairn, S.A. and Hawke, L.D. and Isaacs, J.Y. and Knight, R. and Stewart, S.H. and Henderson, J. and Haines-Saah, R. and Fast, D. and Lam, A. and Conrod, P.
DOI: 10.1097/CXA.0000000000000150
2022Lessons Learned from "a Day for Youth Voices on the Opioid Overdose Crisis" and Future Directions for Research on the Youth Polysubstance Use Emergency in Canada
Canadian Journal of Addiction
Nairn, S.A. and Isaacs, J.Y. and Stewart, S.H. and Hawke, L.D. and Thulien, M. and Fast, D. and Knight, R. and Conrod, P. and Henderson, J. and Khan, F. and Lam, A. and Haines-Saah, R.J.
DOI: 10.1097/CXA.0000000000000151
2022Navigating Treatment in the Shadow of the Overdose Crisis: Perspectives of Youth Experiencing Street-Involvement Across British Columbia
Canadian Journal of Addiction
Thulien, M. and Charlesworth, R. and Anderson, H. and Dykeman, R. and Kincaid, K. and Sedgemore, K. and Knight, R. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1097/CXA.0000000000000146
2022I'm just trying to stay: Experiences of temporal uncertainty in modular and supportive housing among young people who use drugs in Vancouver
International Journal of Drug Policy
Manson, D. and Kerr, T. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103893
2022Initiation of opioid agonist treatment and subsequent substance use and other patterns among adolescents and young adults in Vancouver, Canada
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Pilarinos, A. and Fast, D. and Nosova, E. and Kwa, Y. and Joe, R. and Buxton, J.A. and DeBeck, K.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109441
2022Navigating Opioid Agonist Therapy among Young People who use Illicit Opioids in Vancouver, Canada
International Journal of Drug Policy
Pilarinos, A. and Kwa, Y. and Joe, R. and Thulien, M. and Buxton, J.A. and DeBeck, K. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103773
2022Going Nowhere: Ambivalence about Drug Treatment during an Overdose Public Health Emergency in Vancouver
Medical Anthropology Quarterly
Danya Fast
DOI: 10.1111/maq.12638
06/2021The sexualised use of cannabis among young sexual minority men: “I’m actually enjoying this for the first time”
Culture, Health and Sexuality
Parent, N. and Ferlatte, O. and Milloy, M.-J. and Fast, D. and Knight, R.
DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2020.1736634
2021Poppers, queer sex and a Canadian crackdown: Examining the experiences of alkyl nitrite use among young sexual minority men
International Journal of Drug Policy
Cameron Schwartz and Danya Fast and Rod Knight
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102670
03/2020The knife's edge: Masculinities and precarity in East Africa
Social Science and Medicine
Fast, D. and Bukusi, D. and Moyer, E.
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113097
2020“Something that actually works”: Cannabis use among young people in the context of street entrenchment
PLoS ONE
Paul, B. and Thulien, M. and Knight, R. and Milloy, M.J. and Howard, B. and Nelson, S. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236243
2020Erratum to ‘Poppers, queer sex and a Canadian crackdown: Examining the experiences of alkyl nitrite use among young sexual minority men’ [International Journal of Drug Policy 77 (2020) 102670] (International Journal of Drug Policy (2020) 77, (S0955395920300116), (10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102670))
International Journal of Drug Policy
Schwartz, C. and Fast, D. and Knight, R.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102882
2020"am i gonna get in trouble for acknowledging my will to be safe?": Identifying the experiences of young sexual minority men and substance use in the context of an opioid overdose crisis
Harm Reduction Journal
Goodyear, T. and Mniszak, C. and Jenkins, E. and Fast, D. and Knight, R.
DOI: 10.1186/s12954-020-00365-4
2020Opioid agonist therapy trajectories among street entrenched youth in the context of a public health crisis
SSM - Population Health
Giang, V. and Thulien, M. and McNeil, R. and Sedgemore, K. and Anderson, H. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100609
2020Interventions to address substance use and sexual risk among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men who use methamphetamine: A systematic review
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Knight, R. and Karamouzian, M. and Carson, A. and Edward, J. and Carrieri, P. and Shoveller, J. and Fairbairn, N. and Wood, E. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.09.023
2019The authors respond to comments on the use of secure care in youth
CMAJ
DeBeck, K. and Kendall, P. and Fast, D. and Pilarinos, A.
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.71589
2019Prevalence and correlates of selling illicit cannabis among people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A ten-year prospective cohort study
International Journal of Drug Policy
Reddon, H. and Fast, D. and DeBeck, K. and Werb, D. and Hayashi, K. and Wood, E. and Milloy, M.-J.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.02.006
2019Becoming and coming undone on the streets of Dar es Salaam
Africa Today
Fast, D. and Moyer, E.
DOI: 10.2979/africatoday.64.3.01
2018“We Don’t Belong There”: New Geographies of Homelessness, Addiction, and Social Control in Vancouver’s Inner City
City and Society
Fast, D. and Cunningham, D.
DOI: 10.1111/ciso.12177
2018Secure care: More harm than good
CMAJ
Pilarinos, A. and Kendall, P. and Fast, D. and Debeck, K.
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.180700
2018Criminalization of HIV non-disclosure: Narratives from young men living in vancouver, Canada
PLoS ONE
Knight, R. and Kr{\"u}si, A. and Carson, A. and Fast, D. and Shannon, K. and Shoveller, J.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201110
2018“Getting out of downtown”: a longitudinal study of how street-entrenched youth attempt to exit an inner city drug scene
BMC Public Health
Knight, R. and Fast, D. and DeBeck, K. and Shoveller, J. and Small, W.
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4313-9
2017Perceptions of a drug prevention public service announcement campaign among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada: A qualitative study
Harm Reduction Journal
Ti, L. and Fast, D. and Small, W. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1186/s12954-017-0132-7
2017Social-structural factors influencing periods of injection cessation among marginalized youth who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada: An ethno-epidemiological study
Harm Reduction Journal
Boyd, J. and Fast, D. and Hobbins, M. and McNeil, R. and Small, W.
DOI: 10.1186/s12954-017-0159-9
2017The material, moral, and affective worlds of dealing and crime among young men entrenched in an inner city drug scene
International Journal of Drug Policy
Fast, D. and Shoveller, J. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.01.003
2017Still “at risk”: An examination of how street-involved young people understand, experience, and engage with “harm reduction” in Vancouver's inner city
International Journal of Drug Policy
Bozinoff, N. and Small, W. and Long, C. and DeBeck, K. and Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.05.006
2017Dream homes and dead ends in the city: a photo essay experiment
Sociology of Health and Illness
Fast, D.
DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.12563
2017Pathways to criminalization for street-involved youth who use illicit substances
Critical Public Health
Boyd, J. and Fast, D. and Small, W.
DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2015.1110564
2016The multiple truths about crystal meth among young people entrenched in an urban drug scene: A longitudinal ethnographic investigation
Social Science and Medicine
Fast, D. and Kerr, T. and Wood, E. and Small, W.
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.029
2014Did Somebody Say Community? Young People's Critiques of Conventional Community Narratives in the Context of a Local Drug Scene
Human Organization
Fast, D. and Shoveller, J. and Small, W. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.17730/humo.72.2.86005462778382u2
2013'I guess my own fancy screwed me over': Transitions in drug use and the context of choice among young people entrenched in an open drug scene
BMC Public Health
Fast, D. and Small, W. and Kr{\"u}si, A. and Wood, E. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-126
2010Safety and danger in downtown Vancouver: Understandings of place among young people entrenched in an urban drug scene
Health and Place
Fast, D. and Shoveller, J. and Shannon, K. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.07.004
2010Social and structural barriers to housing among street-involved youth who use illicit drugs
Health and Social Care in the Community
Kr{\"u}si, A. and Fast, D. and Small, W. and Wood, E. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2009.00901.x
2010Drug-related risks among street youth in two neighborhoods in a Canadian setting
Health and Place
Werb, D. and Kerr, T. and Fast, D. and Qi, J. and Montaner, J.S.G. and Wood, E.
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.06.009
2010Social influences upon injection initiation among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Will Small and Danya Fast and Andrea Krusi and Evan Wood and Thomas Kerr
DOI: 10.1186/1747-597x-4-8
04/2009Coming 'down here': Young people's reflections on becoming entrenched in a local drug scene
Social Science and Medicine
Fast, D. and Small, W. and Wood, E. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.07.024
2009Social influences upon injection initiation among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada: A qualitative study
Substance Abuse: Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Small, W. and Fast, D. and Krusi, A. and Wood, E. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1186/1747-597X-4-8
2009The perspectives of injection drug users regarding safer injecting education delivered through a supervised injecting facility
Harm Reduction Journal
Fast, D. and Small, W. and Wood, E. and Kerr, T.
DOI: 10.1186/1477-7517-5-32
2008 - Research
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Care Pathways Study
Evidence-informed substance use services are a cornerstone of the response to substance use among youth. Research suggests that the sooner substance use care is initiated, the shorter the duration and impact of substance use disorders. However, numerous gaps and barriers exist in the provision of substance use services for youth, which for youth experiencing street-entrenchment are often compounded by complex institutional trajectories that include pediatric care, mental health care, foster care, criminal justice and frontline service (e.g., shelter) systems.
The Care Pathways Study focuses on the experiences of younger youth (ages 11-18) as they simultaneously navigate multiple systems of care and supervision, including the substance use service, criminal justice, government care, and mental health care systems. Through qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, we are documenting the evolving experiences of these young people and their caregivers and service providers over time. Our goal is to create new knowledge that can directly inform ongoing efforts to deliver innovative substance use services to youth, including at BC Children’s Hospital.
The objectives of the study are to:
1. Characterize the individual, social, structural and environmental contexts that shape youth’s engagement with various substance use services, including harm reduction services, detoxification and treatment, inpatient and outpatient programs, and opioid agonist therapy (OAT);
2. Describe how youth’s engagement with substance use services are shaped by responses from the other systems in which they are immersed, including the primary pediatric care, mental health care, foster care, criminal justice and frontline service systems; and
3. Identify critical gaps and opportunities for improvement in the delivery of substance use services for vulnerable youth, and their onward impact on key health outcomes.
This study is co-led by Family Services of Greater Vancouver-Directions Youth Services. Throughout all stages of the research, are working closely with the Youth Health Advisory Council.GrantsReimagining recovery with young people who use(d) drugs and their caregivers, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Scheme Grant, PI
Mobilizing Knowledge with Young People Who Use Drugs, Caregivers, and Providers: Informing Improved Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Services, Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Catalyst Grant, PI
Between homelessness and care (and back again): Navigating complex institutional trajectories among young people who use drugs in Metro Vancouver, Making the Shift, PI
Side-by-side: Improving the care system to improve health and well-being of youth who use crystal meth, Vancouver Foundation, Participatory Action Research Investigate Grant, PI
Side by side: Identifying strategies to address the health and social needs of youth who use stimulants, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Scheme Grant, PI
Substance use and addiction services engagement among vulnerable youth: An ethno-epidemiological study, Canadian Institutes of Health Research /SickKids – New Investigator Research Grant, PI
Substance use and addiction services engagement among vulnerable youth, Vancouver Foundation –Participatory Action Research Investigate Grant, PI
Honours & AwardsMichael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute brings Mini Science Night to Salmon Arm
Scheduled for May 2, in Salmon Arm, BC, Mini Science Night is a public lecture that explores the newest discoveries and innovations in health research. Admission is free and everyone in the community is welcome to attend, including students, teachers, parents, seniors, and local health-care professionals. There are 50 seats available to the public when registration opens on April 2.
