Introduction: Methamphetamine related overdose deaths increased 333% in LA County from 2011 to 2021, and methamphetamine related ED visits increased 229% (SAPC 2024). Such a medically vulnerable population would benefit from increased utilization of patient centered primary care services (Dickson et al. 2021); however, few research studies have directly engaged with folx using stimulants around their access to, utilization of, and satisfaction in primary care services. This study hopes to bridge gaps in literature by conducting a mixed methods research study to understand the interactions of folx using stimulants with primary care services in LA County.

Methods: Participants were recruited from several syringe services programs in LA County. Inclusion criteria included: current stimulant use and residing within LA county. Exclusion criteria included: being under the age of 18 or being unable to speak English. Participants were first asked to complete a quantitative survey and were then asked to complete a semi-structured interview with the goal of 44 completed surveys and 20 completed interviews. Participants received a $50 visa gift card and a $100 Visa gift card at the end of survey and interview completion respectively. All quantitative survey data were analyzed descriptively using Microsoft Excel®. Qualitative interview data was analyzed inductively and deductively using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Vaismoradi et al., 2013).

Results: Pending final data collection

Conclusion: Given the inductive nature of this study, it is hard to theorize the themes which may precipitate from this research; however, given previous qualitative studies conducted on similar subjects, we hypothesize that many participants will face burdens of navigation accessing care as well as previous stigmatizing experiences in primary care settings. Moreover, we anticipate that several participants will report positive experiences with primary care and we are particularly interested in evaluating participant engagement with mobile primary care modalities.