Availability, Accessibility, and Coverage of Needle and Syringe Programs in Prisons in the European Union.

Needle and syringe programs (NSPs) are among the most effective interventions for controlling the transmission of infection among people who inject drugs in prisons. We evaluated the availability, accessibility, and coverage of NSPs in prisons in European Union (EU) countries. In line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria, we systematically searched 4 databases of peer-reviewed publications (MEDLINE (PubMed), ISI Web of Science, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect) and 53 databases containing gray literature to collect data published from January 2008 to August 2018. A total of 23,969 documents (17,297 papers and 6,672 gray documents) were identified, of which 26 were included in the study. In 2018, imprisonment rates in 28 EU countries ranged between 51 per 100,000 population in Finland and 235 per 100,000 population in Lithuania. Only 4 countries were found to have NSPs in prisons: Germany (in 1 prison), Luxembourg (no coverage data were found), Romania (available in more than 50% of prisons), and Spain (in all prisons). Portugal stopped an NSP after a 6-month pilot phase. Despite the protective impact of prison-based NSPs on infection transmission, only 4 EU countries distribute sterile syringes among people who inject drugs in prisons, and coverage of the programs within these countries is very low. Since most prisoners will eventually return to the community, lack of NSPs in EU prisons not only is a threat to the health of prisoners but also endangers public health.

United States vs Safehouse: The implications of the Philadelphia supervised consumption facility ruling for law and social stigma.

In October 2019, a federal judge ruled that a Philadelphia nonprofit (Safehouse) group's plan to open the first site in the U.S. where people can use illegal opioids under medical supervision does not violate federal Controlled Substances Act, delivering a major setback to Justice Department lawyers who launched a legal challenge to block the facility. The Judge wrote that "the ultimate goal of Safehouse's proposed operation is to reduce drug use, not facilitate it," which represents the first legal decision about whether supervised injection sites can be legally permissible under U.S. law. Although supervised consumption facilities ("SCFs") remain controversial, they already exist in many countries in Europe as well as Canada, Australia, and Mexico, and evaluations of their public health impact have demonstrated the value of this practice. The decision is hailed as a public health victory and could shape the legal debate in other U.S. cities. Challenges remain as stigmatizing attitudes regarding substance use are widely accepted, culturally endorsed, and enshrined in policy. The Safehouse case shows that SCFs might be able to survive under current federal drug laws, but public understanding and support of these facilities will also be crucial for cities and states to open them.

Needle exchange programmes in Visegrad countries: a comparative case study of structural factors in effective service delivery.

BACKGROUND: Harm reduction services, despite their proved effectiveness in the prevention of infectious diseases, are still underdeveloped in several European states. The situation in the Visegrad Group countries is especially interesting. Notwithstanding the shared history, culture and political situation in the last decades, there are significant differences in the state of harm reduction between the countries. METHODS: The research applies the ecological systems model to identify the structural barriers and facilitators affecting organisations providing needle exchange services. It uses a comparative multiple case study design with embedded units of analysis complemented by within-case analysis to establish the relationship between the number and scope of identified factors and the performance of needle exchange services. The qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with professionals working in needle exchange services in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Additionally, relevant documents, reports and online sources were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 24 themes (structural factors) were identified across 11 categories on 3 levels (mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem). The list includes themes related to the broader society, politics and policy on state and local level, frameworks and amounts of funding, the situation on the education labour market, and attitudes of local communities, among others. The data shows that in the Czech Republic, many facilitators can be identified. In the three remaining countries, on the contrary, one can observe mostly barriers in NSP services delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The study addresses a highly unexplored topic of the functioning of harm reduction organisations in East-Central Europe. It sheds light on the environment of analysed services, identifying a number of structural factors in effective service delivery in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The research confirms the significant role of the barriers and facilitators in the services' performance. It highlights the relationships between various elements of the needle exchange programmes' environment, suggesting holistic strategies for addressing them. It also provides a potential starting point for further research.

Injection risk norms and practices among migrant Puerto Rican people who inject drugs in New York City: The limits of acculturation theory.

BACKGROUND: Among people who inject drugs (PWID) in New York City (NYC), racial minorities are disproportionately infected with HIV and hepatitis C (HCV). Prior research has shown that PWID who started injecting drugs in Puerto Rico (P.R.) tend to maintain the risky injection behaviors learned there. This study identifies the P.R.-native norms supporting the continued injection risk behavior of migrant Puerto Rican PWID in NYC to inform a culturally appropriate risk-reduction intervention. METHODS: 40 migrant Puerto Rican PWID were recruited in NYC for a longitudinal qualitative study. The sample was stratified to include 20 migrants with <3 years in NYC and 20 migrants with >3-6 years in NYC. Time-location sampling was used to curb possible network bias in recruitment. Over 12 months, migrants completed semi-structured interviews at baseline, monthly follow-ups, and study exit. Analyses were guided by grounded theory. RESULTS: Most participants (90%) reported having had chronic HCV, and 22.5% reported being HIV-positive. Syringe- and cooker-/cotton-sharing were widespread in both P.R. and NYC. The ubiquitous practice of cleaning used syringes by "water-rinsing and air-blowing" was guided by a normative belief, learned in P.R., that "water and air kill HIV." Sterile syringe use was not a priority. HCV was not a concern. P.R.-native abstinence-only narratives discouraged opioid agonist treatment (OAT) enrollment among recent migrants (≤3 years). Experiences with drug dealers, prison-power groups, and injection doctors ("Gancheros") in P.R. influenced migrants' injection risk behavior in NYC. Those who were Gancheros in P.R. continued working as Gancheros in NYC. CONCLUSIONS: Injection risks make migrant Puerto Rican PWID in NYC vulnerable to HIV/HCV. Harm reduction programs should pay closer attention to the rationales behind these injection risks. A risk-reduction intervention that incorporates the Ganchero figure may be a credible way to help migrants reduce injection risk and accept OAT and syringe exchange programs (SEP).

At-a-glance - Supervised Injection Services: a community-based response to the opioid crisis in the City of Ottawa, Canada. / Aperçu - Services d'injection supervisée : mesure d'intervention communautaire en réponse à la crise des opioïdes à Ottawa (Canada).

In response to the current opioid crisis in Canada, establishing safe injection services (SIS) in high risk communities has become more prevalent. In November 2017, The Trailer opened in Ottawa, Canada and tracks client use, overdose treatment and overdoses reversed. We analyzed data collected between November 2017 and August 2018. During peak hours, demand for services consistently exceeded The Trailer's capacity. Overdoses treated and reversed in this facility increased substantially during this period. Results suggest The Trailer provided an important though not optimal (due to space restrictions) harm reduction service to this high-risk community.

The Trailer (supervised injection service) was established as a response to the opioid crisis in Ottawa, Canada. The Trailer offers a 24-hour service to clients. Overdose reversals during the tracking period increased significantly. The demand for services has consistently exceeded capacity.

La Roulotte (service d'injection supervisée) a été établie en réponse à la crise des opioïdes à Ottawa, Canada. La Roulotte offre un service 24 heures sur 24 aux clients. Le nombre d'inversions des effets d'une surdose effectuées a augmenté considérablement au cours de la période de suivi. La demande de services a constamment dépassé la capacité de La Roulotte.

Opinion of health professionals and drug users before the forthcoming opening of the first drug consumption room in Paris: a quantitative cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: On the brink of the opening of the first French drug consumption room in Paris, the general opinion of the local involved health care professionals and drug users was not known. The objective of this study was to determine their expectations and to search for influencing factors. METHOD: We carried out a quantitative cross-sectional study. A multiple choice questionnaire was proposed to the surrounding willing general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists, to the emergency doctors of Lariboisière hospital, and to the professionals of the harm reduction facilities and their drug users (PWUD). For each question, there was a choice between seven answers, from "- 3" (very negative impact) to "+ 3" (very positive impact). The influence of the characteristics of each group on its mean answers was explored by Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman's tests. RESULTS: The median expectations among the groups of responding GPs (N = 62), other health care professionals (N = 82), and PWUD (N = 57) were mainly positive. They thought that the drug consumption room (DCR) would improve the health of PWUD, reduce their at-risk behaviors, would not increase drug use or drug dealing in the neighborhood, and would reduce nuisance in the public space. Only the group of GPs expressed that the DCR could decrease the quietness of the neighborhood, and only the group of PWUD had higher expectations that the DCR would decrease the number of arrests and the number of violent behavior. GPs' expectations were significantly better in terms of health improvement of PWUD and reducing their precariousness if they had a previous experience in addiction medicine (Mann-Whitney, p = 0.004 and p = 0.019), with a longer practice (Spearman's rho, p = 0.021 and p = 0.009), and if they were currently prescribing opioid substitution treatments (Mann-Whitney, p = 0.030 and p = 0.002). Among non-GPs, those who were working in addiction medicine centers had significantly better expectations than pharmacists, and the professionals of the local emergency department had intermediate expectations. CONCLUSIONS: Health care professionals and drug users had a positive opinion of the to-be-created Parisian drug consumption room. Experience in addiction medicine influenced positively health professionals' expectations.

Feasibility of needle and syringe programs in Tajikistan distributing low dead space needles.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, the World Health Organization recommended that needle and syringe programs offer their clients low dead space insulin syringes with permanently attached needles. However, in many countries, these syringes are not acceptable to a majority of people who inject drugs. This study assessed the feasibility of working with needle and syringe programs to implement the WHO recommendation using low dead space detachable needles. The study also assessed the acceptability of the needles. METHODS: Two needle and syringe programs in Tajikistan-one in Kulob and one in Khudjand-received 25,000 low dead space detachable needles each. The programs distributed low dead space detachable needles and a marketing flyer that emphasized the relative advantages of the needles. Each program also enrolled 100 participants, and each participant completed a baseline interview and a 2-month follow-up interview. RESULTS: At follow-up, 100% of participants reported trying the low dead space detachable needles, and 96% reported that they liked using the needles. Both needle and syringe programs distributed all their needles within the first 60 days of the project indicating use of the needles, even among clients who did not participate in the study. CONCLUSIONS: This project demonstrates that it is feasible for needle and syringe programs to offer and promote low dead space needles to their clients. The findings indicate that low dead space needles are acceptable to needle and syringe program clients in these Tajikistan cities. To reduce HIV and hepatitis C virus transmission, needle and syringe programs should offer low dead space needles, low dead space insulin syringes in addition to standard needles, and syringes to their clients.

Geographic Disparities in Access to Syringe Services Programs Among Young Persons With Hepatitis C Virus Infection in the United States.

Using commercial laboratory data, we found 80% of 29382 young persons currently infected with hepatitis C virus lived >10 miles from a syringe services program. The median distance was 37 miles, with greater distances in rural areas and Southern and Midwestern states. Strategies to improve access to preventive services are warranted.

Preventing HIV and Hepatitis Infections Among People Who Inject Drugs: Leveraging an Indiana Outbreak Response to Break the Impasse.

Providing clean needles through syringe services programs (SSPs) prevents the spread of disease among people who inject drugs (PWID). The recent HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana was a wakeup call with particular significance because modeling suggests that Scott County is but one of many counties in the United States highly vulnerable to an HIV outbreak among PWID. It is a painful recognition that some policy makers ignored the evidence in support of SSPs when it was primarily blacks in inner cities that were affected, yet swung into action in the wake of Scott County where 99% of the cases were white. Too many Americans have been taught to shame and shun drug users (irrespective or race or ethnicity). Therefore, we need lessons that afford benefits to all communities. We need to understand what made opinion leaders change their views and then change more hearts and minds before, not after the next outbreak.

The politics of harm reduction in federal prisons.

BACKGROUND: We need to understand better the political barriers to prison-based harm reduction programs. In this paper, I examine the situation in the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), a federal prison agency with a zero-tolerance drug policy and general opposition to prison needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) and safer tattooing initiatives. METHODS: This study draws on 16 interviews with former CSC senior officials, former frontline staff, and external stakeholders; CSC policy and practice documents; and testimony from a House of Commons Standing Committee public study. Thematic coding and comparison of texts were used to examine emergent themes of interest. RESULTS: Four interrelated issues were central for understanding the political barriers: a narrower definition of harm reduction used in corrections, both in principle and practice; the Conservative government's tough-on-crime agenda; strong union opposition; and stakeholder perceptions that political constraints will likely persist, including the view that litigation may offer the only way to introduce PNSPs. CONCLUSION: The system is at an impasse and key questions remain about the importability of harm reduction services into federal prisons. Despite a highly challenging policy environment, moving forward will demand asking new, critical questions and devising more strategic ways of entering the political-operational dialogue that opposes evidence-based programs.

Do community-based strategies reduce HIV risk among people who inject drugs in China? A quasi-experimental study in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces.

BACKGROUND: HIV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) is high in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in southwest China. To address this epidemic, Population Services International (PSI) and four cooperating agencies implemented a comprehensive harm reduction model delivered through community-based drop-incenters (DiC) and peer-led outreach to reduce HIV risk among PWID. METHODS: We used 2012 behavioral survey data to evaluate the effectiveness of this model for achieving changes in HIV risk, including never sharing needles or syringes, always keeping a clean needle on hand, HIV testing and counseling (HTC), and consistent condom use. We used respondent-driven sampling to recruit respondents. We then used coarsened exact matching (CEM) to match respondents during analysis to improve estimation of the effects of exposure to both DiC and outreach, only DiC, and only outreach, modeled using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: We found a significant relationship between participating in both peer-led DiC-based activities and outreach and having a new needle on hand (odds ratio (OR) 1.53, p < .05) and consistent condom use (OR 3.31, p < .001). We also found a significant relationship between exposure to DiC activities and outreach and HIV testing in Kunming (OR 2.92, p < .01) and exposure to peer-led outreach and HIV testing through referrals in Gejiu, Nanning, and Luzhai (OR 3.63, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive harm reduction model delivered through peer-led and community-based strategies reduced HIV risk among PWID in China. Both DiC activities and outreach were effective in providing PWID behavior change communications (BCC) and HTC. HTC is best offered in settings like DiCs, where there is privacy for testing and receiving results. Outreach coverage was low, especially in Guangxi province where the implementation model required building the technical capacity of government partners and grassroot organizations. Outreach appears to be most effective for referring PWID into HTC, especially when DiC-based HTC is not available and increasing awareness of DiCs where PWID can receive more intensive BCC interventions.

Injecting on the Island: a qualitative exploration of the service needs of persons who inject drugs in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the service needs of persons who inject drugs (PWID) who live in less populated regions of Canada. With access to fewer treatment and harm reduction services than those in more urban environments, the needs of PWID in smaller centres may be distinct. As such, the present study examined the needs of PWID in Prince Edward Island (PEI), the smallest of Canada's provinces. METHODS: Eight PWID were interviewed about the services they have accessed, barriers they faced when attempting to access these services, and what services they need that they are not currently receiving. RESULTS: Participants encountered considerable barriers when accessing harm reduction and treatment services due to the limited hours of services, lengthy wait times for treatment, and shortage of health care practitioners. They also reported experiencing considerable negativity from health care practitioners. Participants cited incidences of stigmatisation, and they perceived that health care practitioners received insufficient training related to drug use. Recommendations for the improvement of services are outlined. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that initiatives should be developed to improve PWID's access to harm reduction and treatment services in PEI. Additionally, health care practitioners should be offered sensitisation training and improved education on providing services to PWID. The findings highlight the importance of considering innovative alternatives for service provision in regions with limited resources.

Task shifting redefined: removing social and structural barriers to improve delivery of HIV services for people who inject drugs.

HIV infection among people who inject drugs (IDU) remains a major global public health challenge. However, among IDU, access to essential HIV-related services remains unacceptably low, especially in settings where stigma, discrimination, and criminalization exist. These ongoing problems account for a significant amount of preventable morbidity and mortality within this population, and indicate the need for novel approaches to HIV program delivery for IDU. Task shifting is a concept that has been applied successfully in African settings as a way to address health worker shortages. However, to date, this concept has not been applied as a means of addressing the social and structural barriers to HIV prevention and treatment experienced by IDU. Given the growing evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of IDU-run programs in increasing access to healthcare, the time has come to extend the notion of task shifting and apply it in settings where stigma, discrimination, and criminalization continue to pose significant barriers to HIV program access for IDU. By involving IDU more directly in the delivery of HIV programs, task shifting may serve to foster a new era in the response to HIV/AIDS among IDU.

Ability to access community-based needle-syringe programs and injecting behaviors among drug users: a cross-sectional study in Hunan Province, China.

BACKGROUND: Needle-syringe exchange programs (NSPs) have been substantially rolled-out in China since 2002. Limited studies reported effectiveness of NSPs in a Chinese setting. This study aimed to assess the association between accessibility to NSPs and drug-use risk behaviors of IDUs by investigating primary (self-reported) data of IDUs recruited from NSP sites, community settings and mandatory detoxification centers (MDCs) in Hunan province, China. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Hunan province in 2010. IDU recruits participated in a face-to-face interview to provide information related to their ability to access NSPs, demographic characteristics, and injecting behaviors in the past 30 days. RESULTS: Of the total 402 participants, 35%, 14% and 51% participants indicated low, medium and high ability to access NSPs in the past 30 days, respectively. A significantly higher proportion of IDUs (77.3%) from the high-access group reported ≤2 injecting episodes per day compared with medium- (46.3%) and low-access (58.8%) groups. Only 29.0% of high-access IDUs re-used syringes before disposal in the past 30 days, significantly lower than those in the medium- (43.1%) and low-access (41.3%) groups. Reported levels of needle/syringe sharing decreased significantly as the ability to access NSPs increased (16.3%, 12.7% and 2.5% in the low, medium and high access groups, respectively). Ninety percent of IDUs recruited from MDCs had low ability to access NSPs. CONCLUSIONS: Increased NSP accessibility is associated with decreased levels of injecting frequency, repetitive use and sharing of injecting equipment among Chinese IDUs. Mandatory detention of IDUs remains as a major barrier for IDUs to access NSPs in China.

Should North America's first and only supervised injection facility (InSite) be expanded in British Columbia, Canada?

BACKGROUND: This article reports qualitative findings from a sample of 31 purposively chosen injection drug users (IDUs) from Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria, British Columbia interviewed to examine the context of safe injection site in transforming their lives. Further, the purpose is to determine whether the first and only Supervised injection facility (SIF) in North America, InSite, needs to be expanded to other cities. METHODS: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in a classical anthropological strategy of conversational format as drug users were actively involved in their routine activities. Purposive sampling combined with snowball sampling techniques was employed to recruit the participants. Audio recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using NVivo 9 software. RESULTS: Attending InSite has numerous positive effects on the lives of IDUs including: saving lives, reducing HIV and HCV risk behavior, decreasing injection in public, reducing public syringe disposal, reducing use of various medical resources and increasing access to nursing and other primary health services. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to expand the current facility to cities where injection drug use is prevalent to reduce overdose deaths, reduce needle sharing, reduce hospital emergency care, and increase safety. In addition, InSite's positive changes have contributed to a cultural transformation in drug use within the Downtown Eastside and neighboring communities.

Prospects for scaling-up supervised injection facilities in Canada: the role of evidence in legal and political decision-making.

BACKGROUND: North America's first supervised injection facility-Insite-opened in Vancouver in 2003 under a special federal legal exemption. Insite has faced significant political and legal opposition, which culminated in a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that ordered the federal Minister of Health to extend the facility's exemption and cited evidence that the facility is life-preserving and does not increase public disorder. Officials in several other cities have initiated or accelerated preparations for new facilities due to speculation that the ruling provides sufficient legal basis to expand supervised injection in Canada. However, a comprehensive assessment of the barriers and facilitators to supervised injection facility scale-up is lacking. METHODS: This policy case study reviews a corpus of jurisprudence, legislation, scientific research and media texts to: describe the role of evidence in legal and political decision-making around Insite; analyze the implications of the Insite decision for new facilities; and discuss alternative avenues for supervised injection facility expansion. RESULTS: The Insite decision does not simplify the path towards new supervised injection facilities, but nor does it does pose an insurmountable hurdle. Whether new facilities will be established depends largely upon how the Minister of Health interprets the ruling, the proponents' ability to demonstrate need and support from municipal and provincial governments and community members. Formally defining supervised injection as within nurses' scope of practice could further efforts to establish new facilities. CONCLUSION: Additional court action may be required to establish a stable legal and policy basis for supervised injection facilities in Canada.