Resources
49 Results (showing 1 - 10)
Results sorted by posted date (newest first)
Results sorted by posted date (newest first)
Posted 3/11/2024 (updated 3/28/2024)
This is a resource for harm reduction programs and communities looking to establish new community advisory boards (CABs) or improve upon existing ones. Syringe Services Program Community Advisory Boards: A Framework offers structured recommendations to develop, convene, and sustain effective syringe service program CABs.
Posted 10/23/2023 (updated 3/27/2024)
Posted 4/28/2023 (updated 3/27/2024)
With the proliferation of fentanyl and other adulterants in the national illicit drug supply, people who use drugs (PWUD) are at greater risk of overdose. Among more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths that occurred between July 2021–June 2022, 64% involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Lowering the high rates of overdose among PWUD is possible, as evidence-based practices exist to prevent and respond to overdose, including fentanyl test strips and advanced drug checking equipment. To inform health departments’ harm reduction programming, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing – with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – developed Enhancing Harm Reduction Services in Health Departments: Fentanyl Test Strips and Other Drug Checking Equipment, an educational brief grounded by real-world experience.
Posted 2/28/2023 (updated 3/27/2024)
This study's objective was to develop and validate a survey tool to assess emergency department physician attitudes, clinical practice, and willingness to perform opiate harm reduction interventions. After surveying physicians, most showed they were willing to provide necessary interventions, while few do perform them. Although there was an increased willingness to perform the interventions, a disparity remains.
Posted 10/3/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Nitazenes are a novel group of powerful illicit synthetic opioids derived from 2-benzylbenzimidazole that have been linked to overdose deaths in several states. Nitazenes were created as a potential pain reliever medication nearly 60 years ago but have never been approved for use in the United States. Laboratory test results indicate that the potency of certain nitazene analogs (e.g., isotonitazene, protonitazene, and etonitazene) greatly exceeds that of fentanyl, whereas the potency of the analog metonitazene is similar to fentanyl.
Posted 9/14/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA (FDA Foundation), in partnership with several operating divisions within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), convened two roundtable meetings to understand the perspectives of the harm reduction community, clinicians, and researchers about using fentanyl drug checking and screening as harm reduction and clinical strategies.
Posted 8/23/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
In this cross-sectional, multistate study of rural communities, 79% of people using drugs reported past-30-day methamphetamine use; nonfatal overdose was greatest in people using both methamphetamine and opioids (22%) vs opioids alone (14%), or methamphetamine alone (6%). People using both substances reported the least access to treatment; only 17% of those using methamphetamine alone had naloxone.
Posted 8/2/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Innovative at their inception three decades ago, drug courts confront a practical and ethical obligation to reimagine some core practices and assumptions. A shifting legal and public health landscape means, for example, increased scrutiny of the courts’ focus on abstinence and mandated treatment, and the use of jail. This publication argues the most effective way for drug courts to evolve is by integrating the practices and principles of harm reduction
Posted 7/25/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
In New York City (NYC), there were 2062 overdose fatalities in 2020, the deadliest year on record for NYC and the US. Fentanyl and its analogs were the most common substances involved in overdose deaths in NYC, present in 77% of such deaths in 2020. A characteristic of fentanyl-involved overdose is rapid onset of overdose symptoms; however, with timely administration of oxygen or naloxone, deaths can be averted.
Posted 7/25/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
In 2019, the Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI) at the University of Washington launched the “Meds First” program to provide onsite, low-barrier access to buprenorphine in partnership with six syringe services programs across WA State. A key component of the Meds First service model was the addition of care navigation to support client engagement and retention in OUD treatment.