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Over 109,000 people in the USA died from a drug overdose in 2022. More alarming is the amount of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (SOOM), primarily fentanyl. From 2015 to 2...
E-cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery system, ENDS) have been presented as a harm reduction strategy for people who smoke tobacco cigarettes but who cannot achieve abstinence, or for those who wish to con...
The Correction to this article has been published in Harm Reduction Journal 2024 21:60
Due to concerns over potential interactions between some hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and opioids, we describe adverse event (AE) reports of concomitant use of opioids and DAAs.
Xylazine has emerged as a consistent part of the unregulated drug supply in recent months. We discuss major domains of xylazine’s harm, current knowledge deficits, clinical and harm reduction strategies for mi...
The Correction to this article has been published in Harm Reduction Journal 2023 20:170
Permanent supportive housing is an effective intervention for stably housing most people experiencing homelessness and mental illness who have complex support needs. However, high-risk behaviours and challenge...
The intersection of dual public health emergencies—the COVID-19 pandemic and the drug toxicity crisis—has led to an urgent need for acute care based harm reduction for unregulated opioid use. Emergency Departm...
Overdose prevention sites (OPS) are evidence-based interventions to improve public health, yet implementation has been limited in the USA due to a variety of legal impediments. Studies in various US settings h...
To prevent the transmission of blood-borne infections and reach the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) has set the goal to distribute 300 sterile needles and syringes e...
Opioid relapse, one of the common and severe problems during methadone maintenance treatment, can give rise to poor treatment outcomes. This study measured the opioid relapse rate and its associated factors am...
Meaningful engagement and partnerships with people who use drugs are essential to conducting research that is relevant and impactful in supporting desired outcomes of drug consumption as well as reducing drug-...
Opioid use disorder (OUD) poses significant public health problems that have increased dramatically, resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality.
Syringe service programs (SSPs) provide tools to people who inject drugs (PWID) to prevent overdose, reduce the risk of HIV and HCV infection, and reduce injection frequency. While effective, previous research...
Little is known about perceptions, use intentions, and behaviors of adults regarding nicotine gum that is marketed and regulated as a consumer product rather than as a medicinal nicotine replacement therapy (N...
Xylazine, an α2-adrenoceptor agonist sedative commonly used in veterinary medicine, is not approved for human use. Nevertheless, xylazine-involved overdose rates have surged in recent years, fueled by an incre...
The French Addictovigilance network has observed the existence of the intravenous use of oral morphine capsules among people suffering from opioid use disorders. According to persons who inject morphine, these...
Safe Spaces are a harm reduction approach commonly utilised in nightlife and festival settings to address alcohol and other drug-related harms. Despite increasing use, there has been little independent evaluat...
The unintentional consumption of fentanyl is a serious health risk for people who use illicit drugs. In an ongoing community-based study regarding polysubstance use among people who use opioids, we found that ...
Emerging adults have the highest cannabis consumption rates in Canada and are among the most vulnerable to cannabis-related harms. Since certain cannabis consumption behaviours carry greater risks of harm, the...
Housing environments shape injection drug-related risks and harms and thus represent a critical implementation setting for syringe services programs (SSPs). As critical harm reduction measures, SSPs provide sa...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are disproportionately impacted by blood-borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmissible infections (STIs). Stigma remains one of the key barriers to testing a...
The Correction to this article has been published in Harm Reduction Journal 2024 21:34
The opioid epidemic continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. In 2020, 83% of opioid-related overdose deaths were due to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. Drug checking servi...
People with substance use disorder are at risk of complications of drug use and frequent hospitalization and may continue to use substances during admission to acute care. Acute care harm reduction strategies ...
The expanded capacity of syringe services programs (SSPs) in the USA to integrate telehealth services was largely related to flexibility of buprenorphine prescription in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SSPs...
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is used at disproportionately high rates within sexuality and gender diverse communities and carries a high risk of overdose. GHB overdose can result in death. Internationally, rece...
Problem opioid use and opioid-related drug overdoses remain a major public health concern despite attempts to reduce and monitor opioid prescriptions and increase access to office-based opioid treatment. Curre...
The Russian war in Ukraine poses many risks for the spread of HIV, TB and associated conditions, including possible increases in the numbers of people who inject drugs or engage in sex work in the years ahead....
Several jurisdictions in Canada have recently considered decriminalizing possession of illicit drugs for personal use (henceforth, simple possession) as part of their responses to the ongoing drug toxicity/ove...
Youth (ages 12–24) rarely access services and supports to address substance use concerns. Peer support can facilitate service engagement and has been associated with positive substance use recovery outcomes in...
Experiences of stigma and discrimination can act as a significant barrier to testing, monitoring, and treatment for hepatitis B virus (HBV). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are a population d...
The Correction to this article has been published in Harm Reduction Journal 2024 21:8
Khat is an amphetamine-like plant, produced and commonly chewed in Ethiopia by a large group of the population. Although significant multidimensional harms of khat use have been reported, currently, there are ...
Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) among people who inject drugs (PWID) are a public health concern. This study aimed to co-produce and assess the acceptability and feasibility of a behavioural interventio...
E-cigarettes can potentially be a harm reduction pathway for adults who smoke and who are seeking to make the complete switch from cigarettes. However, often people who smoke believe that e-cigarettes are just...
The messages used to communicate about harm reduction are critical in garnering public support for adoption of harm reduction interventions. Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of harm reduction interventio...
Many people with high-risk sexual or injection behaviors use harm reduction services with different identities and are therefore counted more than once in client databases. This practice results in inaccurate ...
The opioid crisis continues in full force, as physicians and caregivers are desperate for resources to help patients with opioid use and chronic pain disorders find safer and more accessible non-opioid tools.
The original article was published in Harm Reduction Journal 2023 20:98
Few studies have analyzed harm reduction behaviors and attitudes among rave party attendees. Since the late 1980s, there has been a large Israeli rave scene, also known as 'Nature Parties'. However, only a few...
Voluntary self-exclusion from gambling is a common harm reduction tool in individuals with a gambling disorder. Previous data have demonstrated that many gamblers breach their own self-exclusion, typically thr...
Drug consumption rooms offer heroin and cocaine consumers a secure and hygienic environment including medical and social guidance. Despite the support and mentoring, only sparse information is available about ...
The original article was published in Harm Reduction Journal 2023 20:83
There are gaps in our understanding of treatment needs among people who use methamphetamine. We examined the demographics, perceived treatment needs, barriers to accessing care, and stigma experienced by an in...
Syringe vending machines (SVM) can improve access to sterile injecting equipment, but they have not been widely implemented or evaluated. We evaluate the cost of SVM installed between July 2019–December 2020 i...
Since 2019, multiple HIV outbreaks occurred among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Minnesota. Syringe service programs (SSPs) are evidence-based programs that reduce the spread of HIV. We conducted an assessm...
The potential public health benefits of supervised smoking facilities (SSFs) are considerable, and yet implementation of SSFs in North America has been slow. We conducted this study to respond to significant k...
Alcohol consumption is common among young men and occurs in many contexts. The sexualized substance use literature has generated some insight into the role of alcohol alongside other substances in the context ...
People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) have lower vaccination uptake than the general population, and disproportionately experience the burden of harms from vaccine-preventable diseases. We conducted a national qualitati...
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection prevalence is particularly high in people who inject drugs (PWID), a population that faces many barriers to HCV testing and care. A better understanding of the determinants of...
The Correction to this article has been published in Harm Reduction Journal 2023 20:109
Significant heterogeneity exists among people who use drugs (PWUD). We identify distinct profiles of syringe service program (SSP) clients to (a) evaluate differential risk factors across subgroups and (b) inf...
3-methylmethcathinone (3-MMC) has been available on the European drug market for several years, but an increase in its availability seems to have occurred around 2020, associated with reports of harm and death...
Scotland currently has the highest rates of drug-related deaths in Europe, so drug checking services are being explored due to their potential role in reducing these deaths and related harms. Drug checking ser...
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