“We flew under the radar:” examining the influence of stigma on community engagement strategies among harm reduction practitioners in Central Appalachia

Barriers to utilizing substance use disorder treatment and harm reduction services in Appalachia.

“…One of the more promising ways to combat the harms associated with substance use throughout the Appalachian region is to increase access to and utilization of harm reduction services and related treatments. Harm reduction strategies include syringe service programs (SSPs), overdose response kits (i.e., naloxone or Narcan), safe injection sites, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs), and peer recovery support services (Childs et al, 2021; Hoffman et al, 2023; Lefor, 2019). In addition to effectively reducing harms associated with substance use, these services frequently serve as a way to link people who use drugs (PWUD) to a broad range of other services such as testing for HCV and HIV, medical care, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, assistance with basic needs, and other social service programs (Ibragimov et al, 2021).…”