Articles

Needle acquisition patterns, network risk and social capital among rural PWID in Puerto Rico

People who inject drugs (PWID) take on significant risks of contracting blood-borne infection, including injecting with a large number of partners and acquiring needles from unsafe sources. When combined, risk...

Authors: Ian Duncan, Patrick Habecker, Roberto Abadie, Ric Curtis, Bilal Khan and Kirk Dombrowski

Mitigating risks of students use of study drugs through understanding motivations for use and applying harm reduction theory: a literature review

As postsecondary students’ use of “study drugs” becomes more popular with increasingly reported negative effects on health and academic performance, failing prohibitionist policies to reduce consumption, and a...

Authors: Dor David Abelman

Perceived benefits of the hepatitis C peer educators: a qualitative investigation

Although opioid-dependent patients are disproportionately impacted by hepatitis C (HCV), many do not receive treatment. In addition to HCV treatment-access barriers, substance-using patients may be reluctant t...

Authors: A. W. Batchelder, L. Cockerham-Colas, D. Peyser, S. P. Reynoso, I. Soloway and A. H. Litwin

Methadone maintenance—lessons from two systems in China

In Hong Kong, methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) was launched in the 1970s, almost 30 years before the counterpart programme’s inauguration in Mainland China. Both were established in response to perceived ...

Authors: Shui-Shan Lee and Robert Newman

Erratum to: “Like a lots happened with my whole childhood”: violence, trauma, and addiction in pregnant and postpartum women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

Authors: Iris Torchalla, Isabelle Aube Linden, Verena Strehlau, Erika K. Neilson and Michael Krausz

Stigmatization of people who inject drugs (PWID) by pharmacists in Tajikistan: sociocultural context and implications for a pharmacy-based prevention approach

Pharmacies are an important source of sterile syringes for people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tajikistan who are under high risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus. Accessibility of sterile syringes at pharmacies wit...

Authors: Umedjon Ibragimov, Hannah L. Cooper, Regine Haardörfer, Kristin L. Dunkle, William A. Zule and Frank Y. Wong

Barriers to retention in methadone maintenance therapy among people who inject drugs in Bangkok, Thailand: a mixed-methods study

Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is a mainstay for treating opioid use disorder and preventing and managing HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID). While previous research suggested low dosing of methadon...

Authors: Kanna Hayashi, Lianping Ti, Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, Paisan Suwannawong, Karyn Kaplan, Will Small and Thomas Kerr

Characteristics of persons who inject drugs and who witness opioid overdoses in Vietnam: a cross-sectional analysis to inform future overdose prevention programs

Persons who use opioids have a high risk of overdose and associated mortality. In Vietnam, little is known about the characteristics of this population and the persons who are witness to those overdoses. One a...

Authors: N.A. Blackburn, K.E. Lancaster, T.V. Ha, C.A. Latkin, W.C. Miller, C. Frangakis, V.A. Chu, T. Sripaipan, V.M. Quan, N.L. Minh, P.T. Vu and V.F. Go

A critique of the US Surgeon General’s conclusions regarding e-cigarette use among youth and young adults in the United States of America

In December 2016, the Surgeon General published a report that concluded e-cigarette use among youth and young adults is becoming a major public health concern in the United States of America.

Authors: Riccardo Polosa, Christopher Russell, Joel Nitzkin and Konstantinos E. Farsalinos

Psychoactive substances as a last resort—a qualitative study of self-treatment of migraine and cluster headaches

Treatment resistant cluster headache and migraine patients are exploring alternative treatments online. The aim of this study was to improve comprehension regarding the use of non-established or alternative ph...

Authors: Martin Andersson, Mari Persson and Anette Kjellgren

A longitudinal and case-control study of dropout among drug users in methadone maintenance treatment in Haiphong, Vietnam

Vietnam began providing methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) in 2008; as of June 2016, 44,479 persons who inject drugs (PWID) were in treatment in 57 provinces. However, 10–23% of patients were estimated to hav...

Authors: Pham Minh Khue, Nguyen Thi Tham, Dinh Thi Thanh Mai, Pham Van Thuc, Vu Minh Thuc, Pham Van Han and Christina Lindan

Rationale for cannabis-based interventions in the opioid overdose crisis

North America is currently in the grips of a crisis rooted in the use of licit and illicit opioid-based analgesics. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in Canada and the US, and the growing ...

Authors: Philippe Lucas

Risk behaviour determinants among people who inject drugs in Stockholm, Sweden over a 10-year period, from 2002 to 2012

People who inject drugs (PWID) frequently engage in injection risk behaviours exposing them to blood-borne infections. Understanding the underlying causes that drive various types and levels of risk behaviours...

Authors: Niklas Karlsson, Michele Santacatterina, Kerstin Käll, Maria Hägerstrand, Susanne Wallin, Torsten Berglund and Anna Mia Ekström

Novel remote electronic medication supply model for opioid-dependent outpatients with polypharmacy––first long-term case study

Patients with substance use disorders grow older thanks to effective treatments. Together with a high prevalence of comorbidities, psychological problems, and low social support, these patients are at high ris...

Authors: Samuel S. Allemann, Kenneth M. Dürsteler, Johannes Strasser, Marc Vogel, Marcel Stoeckle, Kurt E. Hersberger and Isabelle Arnet

Are we anywhere near there yet? The state of harm reduction in North America in 2017

Authors: Ernest Drucker and Nick Crofts

Use and knowledge of contraceptive methods by patients in two substance use disorders treatment centers in Paris

Studies on contraceptive use by patients with substance use disorders (SUD) show a concerning low use of contraception. Mainly conducted in USA, they could be irrelevant to patients attending European SUD trea...

Authors: Virgile Clergue-Duval, Suzanne Robin, Maeva Fortias, Gaël Dupuy, Béatrice Badin-de-Montjoye and Florence Vorspan

Developing harm reduction in the context of youth substance use: insights from a multi-site qualitative analysis of young people’s harm minimization strategies

Youth substance use programming and educational strategies are frequently informed by prevention approaches that emphasize abstinence goals, which often do not resonate with youth in their lack of acknowledgme...

Authors: Emily K. Jenkins, Allie Slemon and Rebecca J. Haines-Saah

An overview of forensic drug testing methods and their suitability for harm reduction point-of-care services

Given the current opioid crisis around the world, harm reduction agencies are seeking to help people who use drugs to do so more safely. Many harm reduction agencies are exploring techniques to test illicit dr...

Authors: Lane Harper, Jeff Powell and Em M. Pijl

Harm reduction in the USA: the research perspective and an archive to David Purchase

The history of harm reduction in the USA has led to the development of some of the most important methods for treating persons for drug use disorders, such as methadone and buprenorphine for opiate use disorde...

Authors: Don C. Des Jarlais

Harm reduction in name, but not substance: a comparative analysis of current Canadian provincial and territorial policy frameworks

In Canada, funding, administration, and delivery of health services—including those targeting people who use drugs—are primarily the responsibility of the provinces and territories. Access to harm reduction se...

Authors: Elaine Hyshka, Jalene Anderson-Baron, Kamagaju Karekezi, Lynne Belle-Isle, Richard Elliott, Bernie Pauly, Carol Strike, Mark Asbridge, Colleen Dell, Keely McBride, Andrew Hathaway and T. Cameron Wild

Public attitudes towards gambling product harm and harm reduction strategies: an online study of 16–88 year olds in Victoria, Australia

Gambling has quickly emerged as an important global public health issue. With new technologies used to develop high intensity gambling products and promotions aimed at driving consumption, public health organi...

Authors: Samantha L. Thomas, Melanie Randle, Amy Bestman, Hannah Pitt, Steven J. Bowe, Sean Cowlishaw and Mike Daube

Information sought, information shared: exploring performance and image enhancing drug user-facilitated harm reduction information in online forums

There is good evidence to suggest that performance and image enhancing drug (PIED) use is increasing in Australia and that there is an increase in those using PIEDs who have never used another illicit substanc...

Authors: Boden Tighe, Matthew Dunn, Fiona H. McKay and Timothy Piatkowski

Opium trade and the spread of HIV in the Golden Crescent

The Golden Crescent region of South Asia—comprising Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan—is a principal global site for opium production and distribution. Over the past few decades, war, terrorism, and a shifting p...

Authors: Syeda Ayesha Farooq, Mohammad Hafiz Rasooly, Syed Hani Abidi, Kayvon Modjarrad and Syed Ali

Acceptability and design preferences of supervised injection services among people who inject drugs in a mid-sized Canadian City

Supervised injection services (SIS) have been shown to reduce the public- and individual-level harms associated with injection drug use. While SIS feasibility research has been conducted in large urban centres...

Authors: Sanjana Mitra, Beth Rachlis, Ayden Scheim, Geoff Bardwell, Sean B. Rourke and Thomas Kerr

“Just not all ice users do that”: investigating perceptions and potential harms of Australia’s Ice Destroys Lives campaign in two studies

In 2015, the Australian government launched the media campaign Ice Destroys Lives targeting crystal methamphetamine use. Previous research indicates mass media campaigns may have harmful effects for people engage...

Authors: Caitlin H. Douglass, Elizabeth C. Early, Cassandra J. C. Wright, Anna Palmer, Peter Higgs, Brendan Quinn, Paul M. Dietze and Megan S. C. Lim

Hepatitis C bio-behavioural surveys in people who inject drugs—a systematic review of sensitivity to the theoretical assumptions of respondent driven sampling

New, more effective and better-tolerated therapies for hepatitis C (HCV) have made the elimination of HCV a feasible objective. However, for this to be achieved, it is necessary to have a detailed understandin...

Authors: Ryan Buchanan, Salim I. Khakoo, Jonathan Coad, Leonie Grellier and Julie Parkes

A qualitative assessment of an abstinence-oriented therapeutic community for prisoners with substance use disorders in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, where HIV is concentrated in prisons and driven by injection drug use, provides a prison-based methadone maintenance therapy program as well as abstinence-oriented therapeutic community based on th...

Authors: Lyuba Azbel, Julia Rozanova, Ingo Michels, Frederick L. Altice and Heino Stöver

Erratum to: A cohort study examining emergency department visits and hospital admissions among people who use drugs in Ottawa, Canada

Authors: Claire E. Kendall, Lisa M. Boucher, Amy E. Mark, Alana Martin, Zack Marshall, Rob Boyd, Pam Oickle, Nicola Diliso, Dave Pineau, Brad Renaud, Tiffany Rose, Sean LeBlanc, Mark Tyndall, Olivia M. Lee and Ahmed M. Bayoumi

An analysis of respondent-driven sampling with injecting drug users in a high HIV prevalent state of India

Personal networks are significant social spaces to spread of HIV or other blood-borne infections among hard-to-reach population, viz., injecting drug users, female sex workers, etc. Sharing of infected needles...

Authors: Sanjib Kumar Phukan, Gajendra Kumar Medhi, Jagadish Mahanta, Rajatashuvra Adhikary, Gay Thongamba, Ramesh S. Paranjape and Brogen S. Akoijam

Awareness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among women who inject drugs in NYC: the importance of networks and syringe exchange programs for HIV prevention

Women who inject drugs (WWID) are at heightened risk for HIV due to biological, behavioral, and structural factors. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) could aid in HIV prevention for WWID. However, little is know...

Authors: Suzan M. Walters, Kathleen H. Reilly, Alan Neaigus and Sarah Braunstein

How understanding and application of drug-related legal instruments affects harm reduction interventions in Cambodia: a qualitative study

Harm reduction interventions in Cambodia face numerous obstacles because of conflicting understanding and interests and inconsistencies in the implementation by law enforcement officials. This study aims to ex...

Authors: Sovannary Tuot, Chanrith Ngin, Khuondyla Pal, Sochenda Sou, Ghazal Sawez, Phylicia Morgan, Mony Srey, Tola Chan, Pheak Chhoun, Olga Golichenko, Sok Chamreun Choub and Siyan Yi

Service utilization and cost of implementing a comprehensive HIV prevention and care program among people who inject drugs in Delhi, India

WHO, UNODC, and UNAIDS recommend a comprehensive package for prevention, treatment, and care of HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID). We describe the uptake of services and the cost of implementing a compr...

Authors: Mary Philip Sebastian, Aparajita Dasgupta, Lopamudra Ray Saraswati, Asha Singh, Vartika Sharma, Ira Madan, Waimar Tun, Julie Pulerwitz, Ibou Thior and Avina Sarna

Two steps forward, one step back: current harm reduction policy and politics in the United States

Harm reduction policies and attitudes in the United States have advanced substantially in recent years but still lag behind more advanced jurisdictions in Europe and elsewhere. The Obama administration, partic...

Authors: Ethan Nadelmann and Lindsay LaSalle

Erratum to: Telling our stories: heroin-assisted treatment and SNAP activism in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver

Authors: Susan Boyd, Dave Murray and Donald MacPherson

Using a programmatic mapping approach to plan for HIV prevention and harm reduction interventions for people who inject drugs in three South African cities

Stigma, criminalisation and a lack of data on drug use contribute to the “invisibility” of people who inject drugs (PWID) and make HIV prevention and treatment service delivery challenging. We aimed to confirm...

Authors: Andrew Scheibe, Shaun Shelly, Andrew Lambert, Andrea Schneider, Rudolf Basson, Nelson Medeiros, Kalvanya Padayachee, Helen Savva and Harry Hausler

Naloxone and the Inner City Youth Experience (NICYE): a community-based participatory research study examining young people’s perceptions of the BC take home naloxone program

Take home naloxone (THN) programs reduce mortality by training bystanders to respond to opioid overdoses. Clinical observation by the health care team at the Inner City Youth (ICY) program indicated that young...

Authors: Keren Mitchell, S. Elise Durante, Katrina Pellatt, Chris G. Richardson, Steve Mathias and Jane A. Buxton

“Until people start dying in droves, no actions will be taken”: perception and experience of HIV-preventive measures among people who inject drugs in northwestern Russia

The HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Russia continues to spread. This exploratory study examines how HIV-prevention measures are perceived and experienced by PWID in the northwestern region...

Authors: Peter Meylakhs, Aadne Aasland and Arne Grønningsæter

Harm reduction in hospitals

Authors: Malika Sharma, Wiplove Lamba, Alexander Cauderella, Timothy H. Guimond and Ahmed M. Bayoumi

Social-structural factors influencing periods of injection cessation among marginalized youth who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada: an ethno-epidemiological study

Injection drug use is associated with HIV and hepatitis C transmission, overdose, and other preventable harms. These harms are heightened for structurally vulnerable injection drug-using populations, as their ...

Authors: Jade Boyd, Danya Fast, Megan Hobbins, Ryan McNeil and Will Small

Housing First and harm reduction: a rapid review and document analysis of the US and Canadian open-access literature

Housing First is an evidence-based practice intended to serve chronically homeless individuals with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders. Despite housing active substance users, harm...

Authors: Dennis P. Watson, Valery Shuman, James Kowalsky, Elizabeth Golembiewski and Molly Brown

Supervised injection facilities in Canada: past, present, and future

Canada has long contended with harms arising from injection drug use. In response to epidemics of HIV infection and overdose in Vancouver in the mid-1990s, a range of actors advocated for the creation of super...

Authors: Thomas Kerr, Sanjana Mitra, Mary Clare Kennedy and Ryan McNeil

Telling our stories: heroin-assisted treatment and SNAP activism in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver

This article highlights the experiences of a peer-run group, SALOME/NAOMI Association of Patients (SNAP), that meets weekly in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SNAP is a unique ind...

Authors: Susan Boyd, Dave Murray and Donald MacPherson

Access to healthcare insurance and healthcare services among syringe exchange program clients in Massachusetts: qualitative findings from health navigators with the iDU (“I do”) Care Collaborative

Little is known about access to health insurance among people who inject drugs (PWID) who attend syringe exchange programs (SEPs). The goal of the current study was to assess perceptions of SEP staff, includin...

Authors: Thomas J. Stopka, Marguerite Hutcheson and Ashley Donahue

Needle exchange programs for the prevention of hepatitis C virus infection in people who inject drugs: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Previous research on the effectiveness of needle exchange programs (NEP) in preventing hepatitis C virus (HCV) in people who inject drugs (PWID) has shown mixed findings. The purpose of this study was to use t...

Authors: Stephen M. Davis, Shay Daily, Alfgeir L. Kristjansson, George A. Kelley, Keith Zullig, Adam Baus, Danielle Davidov and Melanie Fisher

The association between residential eviction and syringe sharing among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth

Syringe sharing is a high-risk practice associated with the transmission of infectious diseases, such as HIV and HCV. While youth who contend with housing instability are known to be more likely to engage in h...

Authors: Andreas Pilarinos, Mary Clare Kennedy, Ryan McNeil, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr and Kora DeBeck

Development and evaluation of a community-based buprenorphine treatment intervention

The majority of Americans with opioid use disorder remain out of treatment. Operating in 33 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico, harm reduction agencies, which provide sterile syringes and other health serv...

Authors: Aaron D. Fox, Nancy L. Sohler, Taeko Frost, Carolina Lopez and Chinazo O. Cunningham

Expanding conceptualizations of harm reduction: results from a qualitative community-based participatory research study with people who inject drugs

The perspectives of people who use drugs are critical in understanding why people choose to reduce harm in relation to drug use, what practices are considered or preferred in conceptualizations of harm reducti...

Authors: L. M. Boucher, Z. Marshall, A. Martin, K. Larose-Hébert, J. V. Flynn, C. Lalonde, D. Pineau, J. Bigelow, T. Rose, R. Chase, R. Boyd, M. Tyndall and C. Kendall

Education and equipment for people who smoke crack cocaine in Canada: progress and limits

People who smoke crack cocaine experience a wide variety of health-related issues. However, public health programming designed for this population is limited, particularly in comparison with programming for pe...

Authors: Carol Strike and Tara Marie Watson

A cohort study examining emergency department visits and hospital admissions among people who use drugs in Ottawa, Canada

The health of people who use drugs (PWUD) is characterized by multimorbidity and chronicity of health conditions, necessitating an understanding of their health care utilization. The objective of this study wa...

Authors: Claire E. Kendall, Lisa M. Boucher, Amy E. Mark, Alana Martin, Zack Marshall, Rob Boyd, Pam Oickle, Nicola Diliso, Dave Pineau, Brad Renaud, Tiffany Rose, Sean LeBlanc, Mark Tyndall, Olivia M. Lee and Ahmed M. Bayoumi

The North American opioid epidemic: current challenges and a call for treatment as prevention

There is a need for creative, public health-oriented solutions to the increasingly intractable problems associated with the North American opioid epidemic. This epidemic is a fundamentally continental problem,...

Authors: Devesh Vashishtha, Maria Luisa Mittal and Daniel Werb