Resources
21 Results (showing 1 - 10)
Results sorted by updated date (newest first)
Results sorted by updated date (newest first)
Engagement in drug treatment following nonfatal overdose among people who inject drugs in Appalachia
Posted 6/2/2021 (updated 4/10/2024)
Immediately after experiencing a non-fatal overdose, many people who inject drugs (PWID) engage in harm-minimizing behavior change, including engagement in drug treatment. To inform the implementation of tailored interventions designed to facilitate drug treatment engagement in rural communities, we sought to identify correlates of starting any form of drug treatment after their most recent overdose among PWID who reside in a rural county in West Virginia.
Posted 3/10/2021 (updated 4/5/2024)
There are safe ways to dispose of syringes you find on the ground. Sharing injection drug equipment can transmit infections, but there is little risk to someone who is accidentally poked or scratched by a discarded syringe.
Below you'll find information on how to pick them up, where to drop them off, and ways to get involved in cleaning up your neighborhood.
Posted 1/27/2021 (updated 4/4/2024)
The current study examined the accuracy of sensory discernment strategies by measuring study participants’ descriptions of the last opioid injected and checked with a fentanyl test strip (FTS) by that test's positive/negative result. The primary objective was to determine associations between FTS results and descriptions of the illi it opioid's physical appearance and physiological effects.
Posted 1/20/2021 (updated 4/4/2024)
People who use drugs (PWUD) in the U.S. experience disproportionate adverse health outcomes and mortality as compared with the population as a whole (Lake & Kennedy, 2016; Reisinger, Pratt, Shoenborn, & Druss, 2017). Similar health outcomes have been reported elsewhere, for example in the UK (Neale, 2004), and across 8 other European countries (Bargagli et al., 2006). In the U.S. health outcomes among PWUD are intensified by the overdose pandemic, epidemic rates of HIV, hepatitis A and C, skin and soft tissue infections (CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Hagen, Thiede, & Des Jarlais, 2005; Scholl, Seth, Kariisa, Wilson, & Baldwin, 2019), and by structural barriers thwarting health access and utilization.
Posted 11/17/2021 (updated 4/3/2024)
The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine defines stigma as a range of negative attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that are associated with certain conditions such as addiction. Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has been a leading voice in talking about the “chilling effect” stigma has on our ability to address substance use and addiction in our country. In an April 2020 perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine and in her NIDA blog piece, Dr. Volkow explains how stigma can prevent people from seeking care and can even contribute to their continuing addiction. We encourage our visitors to read Dr. Volkow’s writings as well as to familiarize themselves with the efforts to reduce stigma led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) including the NIH HEAL InitiativeSM, which has made addressing stigma a key element in their efforts to address opioid addiction.
Posted 9/15/2021 (updated 4/3/2024)
The UNODC Regional Program Office for Eastern Europe (Kiev, Ukraine), in collaboration with the Humanitarian Action Fund (St. Petersburg, Russia), issues recommendations on web outreach for people who use drugs (PWUD), including people who use new psychoactive substances (NPS). Web outreach is a method of establishing contact, counseling, involving and retaining PWUD in harm reduction programs through websites, social networks, instant messengers, specialized forums, including Darknet platforms.
Posted 11/11/2020 (updated 4/3/2024)
West Virginia leads the nation in overdose death rate and both counties where participants were interviewed for this study were considered to be at risk for an HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs. This study asked the question ‘What on-the-ground environmental factors among PWIH could be contributing to this overdose rate?
Posted 8/19/2021 (updated 4/2/2024)
In spring 2021, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors notified syringe services programs (SSPs) and partners that there would be significant interruptions in the supply of injectable/intramuscular (IM) naloxone. Currently, production and distribution delays are expected to last until fall 2021. This will specifically affect SSPs because IM naloxone is the most affordable formulation, and therefore is most commonly utilized by programs that distribute large volumes of naloxone to reduce fatal overdose rates.
Posted 7/7/2021 (updated 4/2/2024)
Background: Injecting drug users (IDUs) are at increased risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV and other bloodborne pathogens through the multi-person use of syringes. Although research has shown that increased access to syringes through syringe exchange programs (SEPs) is an effective strategy to reduce risky injection practices many areas of the United States still do not have SEPs. In the absence of SEPs, legislation allowing pharmacies over-the-counter sales of syringes has also been shown to reduce syringe sharing. The success of pharmacy sales however is limited by other legal stipulations, such as drug paraphernalia laws, which in turn may contribute to fear among IDUs about being caught purchasing and carrying syringes.
Posted 7/7/2021 (updated 4/2/2024)
This Technical Briefing provides a description of Peer-to-Peer Distribution of Naloxone (P2PN). This is based on six case studies of pioneers of P2PN; three from the UK and three international examples that inform the guidance in this Technical Briefing. This document will inform and be extended following a pilot of P2PN in four sites in England in 2019. These will be supported by small grants from EuroNPUD. The learning from this pilot will help test the model and peer education approach promoted in this briefing.