Background : People who inject drugs (PWID) are a high-risk group for COVID-19 transmission and serious health consequences. Restrictions imposed in the UK in response to the pandemic led to rapid health and housing service alterations. We aimed to examine PWID experiences of: 1) challenges relating to the COVID-19 public health measures; 2) changes to opioid substitution therapy (OST) and harm reduction services; and 3) perceived effects of COVID-19 on drug use patterns and risk behaviour. Methods : Telephone semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 PWID in Bristol, Southwest of England. Analysis followed a reflexive thematic analysis. Results : Concern about COVID-19 and adherence to public health guidance varied. Efforts made by services to continue providing support during the pandemic were appreciated and some changes were preferred, such as less frequent OST collection, relaxation of supervised consumption and needle and syringe programmes (NSP) home delivery. However, remote forms of contact were highlighted as less beneficial and more difficult to engage with than in-person contact. Public health guidance advising people to ‘stay home’ led to increased isolation, boredom, and time to ruminate which impacted negatively on mental health. Lockdown restrictions directly impacted on sources of income and routine. Changes in drug use were explained as a consequence of isolation and fewer interactions with peers, problems accessing drugs, reduced drug purity and reduced financial resources. Conclusion : This study captures the significant impacts and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of PWID. While rapid adaptations to service delivery to help mitigate the risks of COVID-19 were appreciated and some changes such as relaxation of supervised daily OST consumption were viewed positively, barriers to access need further attention. Going forwards there may be opportunities to harness the positive aspects of some changes to services.

Background 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 space between the needle and plunger (referred to as dead space) than traditional detachable equipment. This equipment can help protect PWID from harm of infection as less blood is transferred if equipment is shared. Our previous research found that detachable LDSS are likely to be acceptable to PWID, and we produced recommendations for their introduction in needle and syringe programmes (NSP) in the United Kingdom (UK). We held a national stakeholder meeting to discuss how to accelerate the pace and scale of the rollout and uptake of detachable LDSS. This commentary reflects on the involvement of PWID as co-designers of harm reduction materials to implement these research findings in a way that supports the uptake of LDSS equipment by NSP and service users. We present the user-centred design process, peer reflections on the project, and lessons learnt by the team working with the peers. Main body Peers and stakeholders translated the research into easy to understand messages following a consultation with NSP across the UK. Working with Linnell Publications over three workshops, peers selected their preferred design style and informed the language, messages, and overall look of the designs. The peers ensured the designs avoided images and language with negative connotations, humour, and unequivocal language. Peers said that they found the process enjoyable and informative—leading to increased awareness of harm reduction practices. The facilitators took steps to ensure the views of the peers were heard throughout. They reflected on the importance of involving PWID meaningfully throughout the project. Without the peers, the designs would be less effective and engaging to their target audience. Conclusion We conclude that placing peers at the heart of this research implementation project was essential to ensure the materials are appropriate and engaging and do not stigmatise or alienate the intended audience unintentionally. We recommend that others planning similar work include peers within the entire project to support their meaningful contribution.

Background and Aims Traditional detachable syringes used by people who inject drugs (PWID) retain larger volumes of blood when the plunger is depressed than syringes with fixed needles—referred to as high (HDSS) and low dead space syringes (LDSS), respectively. Evidence suggests that using HDSS may result in greater hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission risk than LDSS. We evaluated the cost‐effectiveness of an intervention to introduce detachable LDSS in a needle and syringe programme (NSP). Design HCV transmission and disease progression model with cost‐effectiveness analysis using a health‐care perspective. Detachable LDSS are associated with increased costs (£0.008) per syringe, yearly staff training costs (£536) and an estimated decreased risk (by 47.5%) of HCV transmission compared with HDSS. The intervention was modelled for 10 years, with costs and health benefits (quality‐adjusted life‐years: QALYs) tracked over 50 years. Setting Bristol, UK. Participants and Cases PWID attending NSP. Intervention and comparator Gradual replacement of HDSS at NSP, with 8, 58 and 95% of HDSS being replaced by detachable LDSS in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Comparator was continuing use of HDSS. Measurements Net monetary benefit. Benefits were measured in QALYs. Findings Introducing detachable LDSS was associated with a small increase in intervention costs (£21 717) compared with not introducing detachable LDSS, but considerable savings in HCV‐related treatment and care costs (£4 138 118). Overall cost savings were £4 116 401 over 50 years and QALY gains were 1000, with an estimated 30% reduction in new infections over the 10‐year intervention period. In all sensitivity analyses, detachable LDSS resulted in cost savings and additional QALYs. Threshold analyses suggested that detachable LDSS would need to reduce HCV transmission risk of HDSS by 0.26% to be cost‐saving and 0.04% to be cost‐effective. Conclusions Replacing high dead space syringes with detachable low dead space syringes in needle and syringe programmes in the United Kingdom is likely to be a cost‐saving approach for reducing hepatitis C virus transmission.