Articles

Research 101: A process for developing local guidelines for ethical research in heavily researched communities

Marginalized communities often attract more than their share of research. Too often, this research benefits researchers disproportionately and leaves such communities feeling exploited, misrepresented, and exh...

Authors: Scott D. Neufeld, Jule Chapman, Nicolas Crier, Samona Marsh, Jim McLeod and Lindsay A. Deane

Partnering with persons in long-term recovery from substance use disorder: experiences from a collaborative research project

Traditional research about substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is considered, among an increasing number of service users, to be disempowering and poorly reflective of their priorities. Thus, this methodolo...

Authors: Henning Pettersen, Morten Brodahl, Jeanette Rundgren, Larry Davidson and Ingrid Amalia Havnes

Harm reduction measures employed by people using opioids with suspected fentanyl exposure in Boston, Baltimore, and Providence

Exposure to potent synthetic opioids such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) has fueled the escalating overdose crisis in the USA, particularly in the east coast. Drug checking services, which allow peop...

Authors: Saba Rouhani, Ju Nyeong Park, Kenneth B. Morales, Traci C. Green and Susan G. Sherman

Reducing injection intensity is associated with decreased risk for invasive bacterial infection among high-frequency injection drug users

Bacterial infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for persons who inject drugs (PWID). Injection cessation may help abrogate such infections, but maintaining complete cessation is challenging. Li...

Authors: Salequl Islam, Damani A. Piggott, Alberto Moriggia, Jacquie Astemborski, Shruti H. Mehta, David L. Thomas and Gregory D. Kirk

Achieving meaningful participation of people who use drugs and their peer organizations in a strategic research partnership

Peer-led programs with people who use drugs (PWUD) have been a key characteristic of the harm reduction in many countries, including their involvement in research. However, peer involvement in research is ofte...

Authors: Graham Brown, Sione Crawford, Gari-Emma Perry, Jude Byrne, James Dunne, Daniel Reeders, Angela Corry, Jane Dicka, Hunter Morgan and Sam Jones

Co-design of harm reduction materials for people who inject drugs to implement research findings

Equipment used by people who inject drugs (PWID) either has a needle which is fixed to the syringe or can be detached and replaced. Detachable low dead space syringes (LDSS) have been developed, with less spac...

Authors: Deborah Hussey, Zoe Trinder-Widdess, Cassie Dee, Darren Bagnall, Tatty Bojangles and Joanna May Kesten

Depression, injecting drug use, and risky sexual behavior syndemic among women who inject drugs in Kenya: a cross-sectional survey

Injecting drug use (IDU) is a key driver of the HIV epidemic particularly when individuals experience psychosocial conditions and risky sexual behavior in a syndemic manner. This study sets out to assess evide...

Authors: Catherine Mwangi, Simon Karanja, John Gachohi, Violet Wanjihia and Zipporah Ngang’a

Mixed methods to explore factors associated with the decline of patients in the methadone maintenance treatment program in Shanghai, China

This study was to characterize the Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) in Shanghai, China, and to explore factors associated with the decline of patients in MMT during 2005–2016.

Authors: Lei Zhang, Jiayi Bao, Amy Harrington, Xiaoduo Fan, Zhen Ning, Jingying Zhang, Daqing Shi, Manji Hu, Zhirong Zhou, Zhengyi Cai, Min Zhao and Jiang Du

Understanding the public health consequences of suspending a rural syringe services program: a qualitative study of the experiences of people who inject drugs

Syringe services programs (SSPs) are evidence-based interventions that are associated with decreases in prevalence and incidence rates of HIV and viral hepatitis among people who inject drugs (PWID). SSPs are ...

Authors: Sean T. Allen, Suzanne M. Grieb, Allison O’Rourke, Ryan Yoder, Elise Planchet, Rebecca Hamilton White and Susan G. Sherman

Changes to the national strategies, plans and guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis C in people who inject drugs between 2013 and 2016: a cross-sectional survey of 34 European countries

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the leading cause of cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. In Europe, people who inject drugs (PWID) represent the majority of HC...

Authors: Mojca Maticic, Jerneja Videcnik Zorman, Sergeja Gregorcic, Eberhard Schatz and Jeffrey V. Lazarus

Non-prescribed use of methadone and buprenorphine prior to opioid substitution treatment: lifetime prevalence, motives, and drug sources among people with opioid dependence in five Swedish cities

Opioid substitution treatment (OST) with methadone or buprenorphine is the most effective means of treating opioid dependence. If these substances are used by people who are not undergoing OST, they can howeve...

Authors: Björn Johnson and Torkel Richert

Implementation contexts and the impact of policing on access to supervised consumption services in Toronto, Canada: a qualitative comparative analysis

Supervised consumption services (SCS) are being implemented across Canada in response to a variety of drug-related harms. We explored the implementation context of newly established SCS in Toronto and the role...

Authors: Geoff Bardwell, Carol Strike, Jason Altenberg, Lorraine Barnaby and Thomas Kerr

Prevalence of and risk factors for hepatitis C virus antibody among people who inject drugs in Cambodia: a national biological and behavioral survey

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a significant global health concern. Despite evidence of the relationship between injecting drug use and HCV, studies on HCV among people who inject drugs in developing countries rem...

Authors: Siyan Yi, Phalkun Mun, Pheak Chhoun, Navy Chann, Sovannary Tuot and Gitau Mburu

Understanding hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV among people who inject drugs in South Africa: findings from a three-city cross-sectional survey

People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk for hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV without accessible harm reduction programmes. Coverage of needle and syringe and opioid substitution therapy (OS...

Authors: Andrew Scheibe, Katherine Young, Lorraine Moses, Rudolph L. Basson, Anna Versfeld, C. Wendy Spearman, Mark W. Sonderup, Nishi Prabdial-Sing, Jack Manamela, Adrian J. Puren, Kevin Rebe and Harry Hausler

Smokeless tobacco mortality risks: an analysis of two contemporary nationally representative longitudinal mortality studies

Assessments supporting smokeless tobacco (SLT) disease risk are generally decades old. Newer epidemiological data may more accurately represent the health risks associated with contemporary US-based SLT produc...

Authors: Michael T. Fisher, Susan Marie Tan-Torres, Charles L. Gaworski, Ryan A. Black and Mohamadi A. Sarkar

“You can’t chain a dog to a porch”: a multisite qualitative analysis of youth narratives of parental approaches to substance use

Reducing harms of youth substance use is a global priority, with parents identified as a key target for efforts to mitigate these harms. Much of the research informing parental responses to youth substance use...

Authors: Allie Slemon, Emily K. Jenkins, Rebecca J. Haines-Saah, Zachary Daly and Sunny Jiao

Prolonged-release opioid agonist therapy: qualitative study exploring patients’ views of 1-week, 1-month, and 6-month buprenorphine formulations

Options for opioid agonist therapy (OAT) are expanding with the development of prolonged-release (also known as extended-release) 1-week, 1-month, and 6-month formulations of buprenorphine. There is an assumpt...

Authors: Joanne Neale, Charlotte N. E. Tompkins and John Strang

Recall and awareness of gambling advertising and sponsorship in sport in the UK: a study of young people and adults

The impact of gambling advertisements shown during sporting events on young people is an important public health issue. While extensive research has taken place in Australia, there is still only a limited unde...

Authors: Natalie Djohari, Gavin Weston, Rebecca Cassidy, Martyn Wemyss and Samantha Thomas

Barriers to using new needles encountered by rural Appalachian people who inject drugs: implications for needle exchange

Using a new needle for every injection can reduce the spread of infectious disease among people who inject drugs (PWID). No previous study has examined new needle use barriers among PWIDs residing in the rural...

Authors: Stephen M. Davis, Alfgeir L. Kristjansson, Danielle Davidov, Keith Zullig, Adam Baus and Melanie Fisher

Factors associated with past 30-day abstinence from cigarette smoking in a non-probabilistic sample of 15,456 adult established current smokers in the United States who used JUUL vapor products for three months

JUUL is the fastest growing and highest selling brand of e-cigarette/vapor products in the USA. Assessing the effect of JUUL vapor products on adult smokers’ use of conventional tobacco cigarettes can help inf...

Authors: Christopher Russell, Farhana Haseen and Neil McKeganey

Perceived acceptability of and willingness to use syringe vending machines: results of a cross-sectional survey of out-of-service people who inject drugs in Tbilisi, Georgia

The growing HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been driven by high rates of injection drug use. The Republic of Georgia has among the highest injection drug use rates globally, with a prevalen...

Authors: David Otiashvili, Irma Kirtadze, Irina Vardanashvili, Mzia Tabatadze and Allison J. Ober

Hepatitis C services at harm reduction centres in the European Union: a 28-country survey

In the context of the WHO’s 2016 Viral Hepatitis Strategy and the introduction of treatment that can cure more than 95% of cases with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the European Joint Action on HIV and Co-...

Authors: Juan M. Pericàs, Daniel J. Bromberg, Denise Ocampo, Eberhard Schatz, Iwona Wawer, Piotr Wysocki, Kelly Safreed-Harmon and Jeffrey V. Lazarus

Prevalence of injecting drug use in Estonia 2010–2015: a capture-recapture study

It has been observed in an earlier study that the number of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Estonia is declining. We provide nationwide estimates of the number of PWID in Estonia for years 2010–2015 and comp...

Authors: Mait Raag, Sigrid Vorobjov and Anneli Uusküla

Women and gambling-related harm: a narrative literature review and implications for research, policy, and practice

While the prevalence of women’s participation in gambling is steadily increasing, there is a well-recognised male bias in gambling research and policy. Few papers have sought to synthesise the literature relat...

Authors: Simone McCarthy, Samantha L. Thomas, Maria E. Bellringer and Rebecca Cassidy

The effects of heat and freeze-thaw cycling on naloxone stability

The availability of take home naloxone (THN) was increased for Canadians in 2016, including access to kits via pharmacies. Unlike typical over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs, THN kits may be stored i...

Authors: Dulcie Lai, Amy Trinh Pham, Praveen P. Nekkar Rao and Michael A. Beazely

“Maybe if I stop the drugs, then maybe they’d care?”—hospital care experiences of people who use drugs

Drug use is associated with increased morbidity and mortality but people who use drugs experience significant barriers to care. Data are needed about the care experiences of people who use drugs to inform inte...

Authors: Soo Chan Carusone, Adrian Guta, Samantha Robinson, Darrell H. Tan, Curtis Cooper, Bill O’Leary, Karen de Prinse, Grant Cobb, Ross Upshur and Carol Strike

Hidden populations: discovering the differences between the known and the unknown drug using populations in the Republic of Georgia

The HIV epidemic in Georgia is increasing. Data shows that compared to previous years, Georgia has increasingly more HIV-infected individuals than previous assessments. Select client groups remain hard to reac...

Authors: M. Gogia, C. Lawlor, N. Shengelia, K. Stvilia and H. F. Raymond

Evidence-based and guideline-concurrent responses to narratives deferring HCV treatment among people who inject drugs

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasingly prevalent among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the context of the current US opioid crisis. Although curative therapy is available and recommended as a publ...

Authors: Ellen Childs, Sabrina A. Assoumou, Katie B. Biello, Dea L. Biancarelli, Mari-Lynn Drainoni, Alberto Edeza, Peter Salhaney, Matthew J. Mimiaga and Angela R. Bazzi

Sociodemographic characteristics of patients with children in a methadone maintenance program: a cross-sectional study

Ever-increasing numbers of opioid use disorder (OUD) in Canada has created the recent opioid crisis. One common treatment for OUD is methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Various factors, including being a pa...

Authors: Candice Luo, Nitika Sanger, Laura Zielinski, Meha Bhatt, Hamnah Shahid, Ieta Shams, Natalia Mouravska, Sabrina Luetam, Jackie Hudson, Lehana Thabane and Zainab Samaan

A mapping review of research on gambling harm in three regulatory environments

Harmful gambling is a complex issue with diverse antecedents and resulting harms that have been studied from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Although previous bibliometric reviews of gambling studies have ...

Authors: David G. Baxter, Margo Hilbrecht and Cameron T. J. Wheaton

HIV- and AIDS-related knowledge and attitude of residents in border regions of Vietnam

Residents in border areas are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to high rates of risk behaviors such as unprotected sexual practices or illicit drug use. Improving knowledge and attitude toward HIV/AIDS prevention an...

Authors: Canh Dinh Hoang, Bach Xuan Tran, Manh Duc Pham, Long Hoang Nguyen, Ha Ngoc Do, Quan Hoang Vuong, Manh Tung Ho, Van Nhue Dam, Thu Trang Vuong, Hai Hong Nguyen, Vu Nguyen, Hai Quang Pham, Giang Hai Ha, Carl A. Latkin, Cyrus S. H. Ho and Roger C. M. Ho

HIV risk behaviours among women who inject drugs in coastal Kenya: findings from secondary analysis of qualitative data

Injecting drug users are at high risk of HIV infection globally. Research related to female drug users is rare in Kenya, yet it is required to inform the development of gender-sensitive HIV prevention and harm...

Authors: Gitau Mburu, Mark Limmer and Paula Holland

Medical cannabis patterns of use and substitution for opioids & other pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances; results from a cross-sectional survey of authorized patients

A 239-question cross-sectional survey was sent out via email in January 2017 to gather comprehensive information on cannabis use from Canadian medical cannabis patients registered with a federally authorized l...

Authors: Philippe Lucas, Eric P. Baron and Nick Jikomes

Performance indicator as the main and the only goal: a “dark side” of the intervention aims to accelerate HIV treatment entry among people who inject drugs in Kyiv, Ukraine

To improve healthcare entry and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation for HIV-positive people who inject drugs (PWID) in Ukraine, an intervention built upon a successful community-based harm reduction projec...

Authors: Alexandra Dmitrieva, Vladimir Stepanov, Ievgeniia-Galyna Lukash and Anna Martynyuk

Baseline differences in characteristics and risk behaviors among people who inject drugs by syringe exchange program modality: an analysis of the Miami IDEA syringe exchange

In March of 2016, Florida passed the Infection Disease Elimination Act (IDEA), legalizing the formation of the first syringe exchange program in Florida, which opened in December of 2016 at a fixed site in Ove...

Authors: Siddharth Iyengar, Adam Kravietz, Tyler S. Bartholomew, David Forrest and Hansel E. Tookes

Stigma against patients with HIV/AIDS in the rapid expansion of antiretroviral treatment in large drug injection-driven HIV epidemics of Vietnam

Despite existing efforts to provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) for all HIV-diagnosed people, stigma deprives them of the highest attainable health status and challenges the effectiveness of ART program in ...

Authors: Phung Quoc Tat Than, Bach Xuan Tran, Cuong Tat Nguyen, Nu Thi Truong, Thao Phuong Thi Thai, Carl A. Latkin, Cyrus S. H. Ho and Roger C. M. Ho

Twenty years of the methadone treatment protocol in Ireland: reflections on the role of general practice

Opioid dependence, characterised by socio economic disadvantage and significant morbidity and mortality, remains a major public health problem in Ireland. Through the methadone treatment protocol (MTP), Irish ...

Authors: Ide Delargy, Des Crowley and Marie Claire Van Hout

Mobile supervised consumption services in Rural British Columbia: lessons learned

In 2016, a public health emergency was declared in British Columbia due to an unprecedented number of illicit drug overdose deaths. Injection drug use was implicated in approximately one third of overdose deat...

Authors: Silvina C. Mema, Gillian Frosst, Jessica Bridgeman, Hilary Drake, Corinne Dolman, Leslie Lappalainen and Trevor Corneil

Perspectives on rapid fentanyl test strips as a harm reduction practice among young adults who use drugs: a qualitative study

In 2016, drug overdose deaths exceeded 64,000 in the United States, driven by a sixfold increase in deaths attributable to illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Rapid fentanyl test strips (FTS), used to detect fent...

Authors: Jacqueline E. Goldman, Katherine M. Waye, Kobe A. Periera, Maxwell S. Krieger, Jesse L. Yedinak and Brandon D. L. Marshall

What is the value of peer involvement in advancing tobacco harm reduction?

Authors: Caitlin Notley, Sharon Cox, Sarah Jakes and Louise Ross

Underreported injection drug use and its potential contribution to reported increase in sexual transmission of HIV in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

We conducted a cross-sectional integrated bio-behavioral survey among sex partners of persons who inject drugs (PWID) to explore reasons for reported increase in reporting of heterosexually transmitted HIV in ...

Authors: Anna P. Deryabina, Padmaja Patnaik and Wafaa M. El-Sadr

Rigidity, dyskinesia and other atypical overdose presentations observed at a supervised injection site, Vancouver, Canada

In midst of the overdose crisis, the clinical features of opioid overdoses seem to be changing. Understanding of the adverse effects of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl is currently limited to clinical setti...

Authors: Mai-Lei Woo Kinshella, Tim Gauthier and Mark Lysyshyn

Associating conditional cash transfer to universal access to treatment could be the solution to the HCV epidemic among drug users (DUs)

To understand the limits of HCV screening programs to reach all drug users (DUs).

Authors: Philippe Chossegros and Fiorant Di Nino

Barriers and facilitators to hepatitis C (HCV) screening and treatment—a description of prisoners’ perspective

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global epidemic with an estimated 71 million people infected worldwide. People who inject drugs (PWID) are overrepresented in prison populations globally and have higher ...

Authors: Des Crowley, Marie Claire Van Hout, John S. Lambert, Enda Kelly, Carol Murphy and Walter Cullen

Brief report: the association between recreational versus therapeutic marijuana use on hazardous alcohol consumption and alcohol-associated behavioral consequences among adults living with HIV in Florida

Though marijuana use has previously been associated with risky alcohol use, studies often do not delineate between the effect of recreational versus therapeutic marijuana use, particularly among people living ...

Authors: Zachary L. Mannes, Erin G. Ferguson, Larry E. Burrell, Robert L. Cook and Nicole Ennis

The complex relation between access to opioid agonist therapy and diversion of opioid medications: a case example of large-scale misuse of buprenorphine in the Czech Republic

Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) has been available in a standard regime in the Czech Republic since 2000. Buprenorphine is the leading medication, while methadone is available only in a few specialised centres. T...

Authors: Viktor Mravčík, Barbara Janíková, Barbora Drbohlavová, Petr Popov and Alessandro Pirona

Gender differences in the provision of injection initiation assistance: a comparison of three North American settings

Individuals experience differential risks in their initiation into drug injecting based on their gender. Data suggest women are more likely to be injected after their initiator and to share injection equipment...

Authors: Stephanie A. Meyers, Ayden Scheim, Sonia Jain, Xiaoying Sun, M. J. Milloy, Kora DeBeck, Kanna Hayashi, Richard S. Garfein and Dan Werb

Challenges and opportunities for implementation of substance misuse interventions in conflict-affected populations

Alcohol and other drug misuse are significant but neglected public health issues in conflict-affected populations. In this article, we review the literature on the challenges and strategies for implementing su...

Authors: M. Claire Greene, Jeremy C. Kane, Kaveh Khoshnood, Peter Ventevogel and Wietse A. Tol

Assessing pharmacy student experience with, knowledge of and attitudes towards harm reduction: illuminating barriers to pharmacist-led harm reduction

As the burden from the opioid epidemic continues to increase in the state of Minnesota and across the nation, the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy seeks to design an innovative, comprehensive harm r...

Authors: Lily Rowan Mahon, Amanda N. Hawthorne, Julie Lee, Heather Blue and Laura Palombi

Contraceptive utilization among new exotic dancers: a cross-sectional study

Female exotic dancers are a population at high risk of unintended pregnancy. The objective of this study is to describe the reproductive health needs and contraceptive utilization of exotic dancers.

Authors: Mishka Terplan, Caitlin E. Martin, Jennifer Nail and Susan G. Sherman