Integrating harm reduction into acute care: A single center's experience

Hyde, Emily K.; Nguyen, Thang; Gilchrist, Sarah; Lee-Ameduri, Katarina

doi:10.1016/j.xjon.2023.05.005

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the United States, empirical research describes an NSP located adjacent to a hospital [ 28 , 29 ] and the distribution of supplies to hospitalized patients upon discharge [ 30 ]. In Canada, the distribution of supplies has been noted to occur in one acute care facility [ 31 ], within specialized sub-acute care facilities [ 32 , 33 ], and sporadically within emergency departments [ 34 ]. However, data on the perspectives of patients who accepted NSP supplies are lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives of patients who inject drugs on a needle and syringe program at a large acute care hospital

Brooks,

Speed,

Dong

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background People who inject drugs in North America often continue to inject while hospitalized, and are at increased risk of premature hospital discharge, unplanned readmission, and death. In-hospital access to sterile injection supplies may reduce some harms associated with ongoing injection drug use. However, access to needle and syringe programs in acute care settings is limited. We explored the implementation of a needle and syringe program integrated into a large urban tertiary hospital in Western Canada. The needle and syringe program was administered by an addiction medicine consult team that offers patients access to specialized clinical care and connection to community services. Methods We utilized a focused ethnographic design and semi-structured interviews to elicit experiences and potential improvements from 25 hospitalized people who inject drugs who were offered supplies from the needle and syringe program. Results Participants were motivated to accept supplies to prevent injection-related harms and access to supplies was facilitated by trust in consult team staff. However, fears of negative repercussions from non-consult team staff, including premature discharge or undesired changes to medication regimes, caused some participants to hesitate or refuse to accept supplies. Participants described modifications to hospital policies regarding inpatient drug use or access to an inpatient supervised consumption service as potential ways to mitigate patients’ fears. Conclusions Acute care needle and syringe programs may aid hospital providers in reducing harms and improving hospital outcomes for people who inject drugs. However, modifications to hospital policies and settings may be necessary.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives of patients who inject drugs on a needle and syringe program at a large acute care hospital

Brooks,

Speed,

Dong

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes about overdose prevention sites in Colorado

Paz,

Mashhouri,

Payton

et al. 2024

Harm Reduct J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Overdose prevention sites (OPS) are a harm reduction strategy that offer people who use drugs a variety of resources including but not limited to sterile supplies, linkage to healthcare resources, and intervention if an overdose occurs. OPS operate in over 120 countries and evidence has demonstrated they are an effective harm reduction strategy. Despite their success elsewhere, OPS remain federally illegal in the United States and thus there is limited research on their implementation and outcomes in the United States. This study aimed to identify Colorado healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes about OPS and determine if there is a correlation between healthcare providers with more knowledge about OPS having a more positive attitude about OPS. Methods An electronic survey was distributed to healthcare providers in Colorado. Responses were collected in early 2022 and recorded on a 5-point Likert scale. Mean scores between 1 and 5 were calculated for each participant and analysis of variance methods were used to determine correlating demographic factors. A p value of ≤ 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance of all findings. Results This study included 698 participants. A Pearson correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship (r = 0.76, p < 0.0001) between provider knowledge and attitudes about OPS. Emergency medicine providers scored the highest in mean knowledge and attitude scores in comparison to all other specialties. Respondents affiliated with a harm reduction center exhibited the highest mean knowledge and attitude scores. Mean knowledge and attitude scores generally rose with respondents’ increasing encounters with people who inject drugs in a typical workday, except when reaching nine or more encounters, where a sharp decline occurred. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of education, exposure to harm reduction strategies, and inter-specialty collaboration in shaping healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes about OPS. The positive correlation between providers’ knowledge and attitudes about OPS suggests that educating healthcare providers on harm reduction strategies, specifically OPS, may lead to reduced stigmatization of OPS among healthcare professionals.

show abstract

Integrating harm reduction into acute care: A single center's experience

Cited by 2 publications

References 11 publications

Perspectives of patients who inject drugs on a needle and syringe program at a large acute care hospital

Perspectives of patients who inject drugs on a needle and syringe program at a large acute care hospital

Healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes about overdose prevention sites in Colorado

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About