Articles

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

Perspectives on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) utilization and related intervention needs among people who inject drugs

Antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is clinically efficacious and recommended for HIV prevention among people who inject drugs (PWID), but uptake remains low and intervention needs are understudied....

Authors: K. B. Biello, A. R. Bazzi, M. J. Mimiaga, D. L. Biancarelli, A. Edeza, P. Salhaney, E. Childs and M. L. Drainoni

Study of human rights violations faced by women who use drugs in Estonia

Estonia continues to have the highest prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs, and the highest overdose mortality, in the European Union. In August 2017, the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA),...

Authors: Arune Kontautaite, Daria Matyushina-Ocheret, Maria Plotko, Mikhail Golichenko, Mart Kalvet and Lena Antonova

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

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...

Authors: Grégoire Cleirec, Maeva Fortias, Vanessa Bloch, Virgile Clergue-Duval, Frank Bellivier, Thomas Dusouchet, Céline Debaulieu and Florence Vorspan

Peer-delivered harm reduction and recovery support services: initial evaluation from a hybrid recovery community drop-in center and syringe exchange program

Recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is often considered at odds with harm reduction strategies. More recently, harm reduction has been categorized as both a pathway to recovery and a series of services ...

Authors: Robert D. Ashford, Brenda Curtis and Austin M. Brown

Young people’s awareness of the timing and placement of gambling advertising on traditional and social media platforms: a study of 11–16-year-olds in Australia

Research has demonstrated that the promotion of gambling, particularly within sport, may have a significant impact on positively shaping young people’s attitudes towards gambling. While some governments have i...

Authors: Samantha L. Thomas, Amy Bestman, Hannah Pitt, Rebecca Cassidy, Simone McCarthy, Christian Nyemcsok, Sean Cowlishaw and Mike Daube

Concentrations of nicotine, nitrosamines, and humectants in legal and illegal cigarettes in Mexico

Article 10 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control states the need for industry disclosure of tobacco contents and emissions. Currently, the profiles of key tobacco compounds i...

Authors: Ariela Braverman-Bronstein, James F Thrasher, Luz Myriam Reynales-Shigematsu, Mauricio Hernández-Ávila and Tonatiuh Barrientos-Gutierrez

Understanding the business versus care paradox in gambling venues: a qualitative study of the perspectives from gamblers, venue staff and counsellors

In recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on gambling venues to identify potential problem gamblers, respond appropriately and refer to treatment. In seeking the perspectives of problem gamblers, venue...

Authors: Ben J. Riley, Simone Orlowski, David Smith, Michael Baigent, Malcolm Battersby and Sharon Lawn

Acceptability of prison-based take-home naloxone programmes among a cohort of incarcerated men with a history of regular injecting drug use

Take-home naloxone (THN) programmes are an evidence-based opioid overdose prevention initiative. Elevated opioid overdose risk following prison release means release from custody provides an ideal opportunity ...

Authors: Michael Curtis, Paul Dietze, Campbell Aitken, Amy Kirwan, Stuart A. Kinner, Tony Butler and Mark Stoové

Acceptance of pharmaceutical cannabis substitution by cannabis using patients with schizophrenia

Cannabis-smoking patients with a psychotic disorder have poorer disease outcomes than non-cannabis-smoking patients with poorest outcomes in patients smoking high-potency cannabis (HPC) containing high Δ9-tetr...

Authors: Jan van Amsterdam, Jojanneke Vervloet, Gerdien de Weert, Victor J. A. Buwalda, Anna E. Goudriaan and Wim van den Brink

Evaluation of a fentanyl drug checking service for clients of a supervised injection facility, Vancouver, Canada

British Columbia, Canada, is experiencing a public health emergency related to opioid overdoses driven by consumption of street drugs contaminated with illicitly manufactured fentanyl. This cross-sectional stu...

Authors: Mohammad Karamouzian, Carolyn Dohoo, Sara Forsting, Ryan McNeil, Thomas Kerr and Mark Lysyshyn

Problem gambling and psychological distress: a cross-national perspective on the mediating effect of consumer debt and debt problems among emerging adults

Severe economic difficulties are common among younger generations who currently have an easy access to consumer credit and payday loans in many Western countries. These accessible yet expensive short-term loan...

Authors: Atte Oksanen, Iina Savolainen, Anu Sirola and Markus Kaakinen

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

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 syri...

Authors: William A. Zule, Alisher Latypov, David Otiashvili, Steffani Bangel and Georgiy V. Bobashev

A qualitative study of persons who inject drugs but who have never helped others with first injections: how their views on helping contrast with the views of persons who have helped with first injections, and implications for interventions

Transitioning from non-injection to injection drug use dramatically escalates health risks. Evidence suggests that people who inject drugs (PWID) help in a majority of others’ first injections, yet these helpe...

Authors: David M. Barnes, Don C. Des Jarlais, Margaret Wolff, Jonathan Feelemyer and Susan Tross

Beyond cure: patient reported outcomes of hepatitis C treatment among people who inject drugs in Australia

Recent advances in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection provide the possibility of eliminating HCV as a public health threat. This focus on HCV elimination through treatment, however, is also dri...

Authors: Annie Madden, Max Hopwood, Joanne Neale and Carla Treloar

From client to co-worker: a case study of the transition to peer work within a multi-disciplinary hepatitis c treatment team in Toronto, Canada

Despite the integration of peer workers into harm reduction services, there is little documentation regarding the experience of this integration or of models in which peers are fully integrated as members of h...

Authors: Paula Tookey, Kate Mason, Jennifer Broad, Marty Behm, Lise Bondy and Jeff Powis

Need for women-centered treatment for substance use disorders: results from focus group discussions

There are few women-centered treatment programs for substance use disorder. We therefore undertook an exploratory study to better understand the treatment experience, barriers, and facilitators of mothers with...

Authors: Natasha Elms, Kendra Link, Adam Newman and Susan B. Brogly

A policy analysis exploring hepatitis C risk, prevention, testing, treatment and reinfection within Australia’s prisons

Hepatitis C (HCV) is a global public health concern. There is a global prevalence of 15% among the world’s prisoner population, suggesting the need for priority HCV treatment among this population group. New h...

Authors: Lise Lafferty, T. Cameron Wild, Jake Rance and Carla Treloar

Developing E-cigarette friendly smoking cessation services in England: staff perspectives

Public health leadership in England has taken a distinctive international stance by identifying the potential public health benefit of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. This includes the development of a gro...

Authors: Hannah Farrimond and Charles Abraham

Correction to: Global and local perspectives on tobacco harm reduction: what are the issues and where do we go from here?

After publication of the original article [1], the authors noticed an error in the Competing interests section.

Authors: Sharon Cox and Lynne Dawkins

A pragmatic harm reduction approach to manage a large outbreak of wound botulism in people who inject drugs, Scotland 2015

People who inject drugs (PWID) are at an increased risk of wound botulism, a potentially fatal acute paralytic illness. During the first 6 months of 2015, a large outbreak of wound botulism was confirmed among...

Authors: Kirsten M. A. Trayner, Amanda Weir, Andrew McAuley, Gauri Godbole, Corinne Amar, Kathie Grant, Gillian Penrice and Kirsty Roy

Pain as a risk factor for substance use: a qualitative study of people who use drugs in British Columbia, Canada

People who use drugs have a significantly higher prevalence of chronic non-cancer pain compared to the general population, yet little is known about how various policy, economic, physical, and social environme...

Authors: Pauline Voon, Alissa M. Greer, Ashraf Amlani, Cheri Newman, Charlene Burmeister and Jane A. Buxton

Fentanyl-contaminated drugs and non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs in Baltimore, MD

The opioid crisis remains a major public health issue in the US and beyond. Despite rapid rises in fentanyl-related mortality nationally, little is known about the role of fentanyl in the occurrence of non-fat...

Authors: Ju Nyeong Park, Brian W. Weir, Sean T. Allen, Patrick Chaulk and Susan G. Sherman

Changing patterns of first e-cigarette flavor used and current flavors used by 20,836 adult frequent e-cigarette users in the USA

Understanding the role that flavors play in the population’s use of e-cigarettes and the impact that flavored e-cigarette products have on the population’s use of more harmful tobacco products, like convention...

Authors: Christopher Russell, Neil McKeganey, Tiffany Dickson and Mitchell Nides

Global and local perspectives on tobacco harm reduction: what are the issues and where do we go from here?

Authors: Sharon Cox and Lynne Dawkins