A Syringe Prescription Program to Prevent Infectious Disease and Improve Health of Injection Drug Users

Rich, Josiah D.; McKenzie, Michelle; Macalino, Grace; Taylor, Lynn E.; Sanford-Colby, Stephanie; Wolf, Francis; McNamara, Susan; Mehrotra, Meenasshi; Stein, Michael D.

doi:10.1093/jurban/jth092

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…26,27 Approximately two-thirds of individuals with addiction will see a primary care or urgent care physician every six months, and many others are regularly examined by other medical specialists. 26,[28][29][30][31][32] Although systematic research on physicians and IDU care has been limited, 28,30,31,[33][34][35] studies suggest that training, attitudes, and self-efficacy factors influence health care provider participation in harm reduction interventions. 8,27,28,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Medical professionals may be uncomfortable treating drug users at all, 37 or view drug abusing patients as a particularly difficult population not amenable to intervention, 31 while fearing that their other patients, colleagues, or society at large will perceive caring for IDUs as Bsoftness^on drug abusers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicians’ Knowledge of and Willingness to Prescribe Naloxone to Reverse Accidental Opiate Overdose: Challenges and Opportunities

et al. 2006

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Naloxone, the standard treatment for heroin overdose, is a safe and effective prescription drug commonly administered by emergency room physicians or first responders acting under standing orders of physicians. High rates of overdose deaths and widely accepted evidence that witnesses of heroin overdose are often unwilling or unable to call 9-1-1 has led to interventions in several US cities and abroad in which drug users are instructed in overdose rescue techniques and provided a Btake-homed ose of naloxone. Under current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, such interventions require physician involvement. As part of a larger study to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of doctors towards providing drug treatment and harm reduction services to injection drug users (IDUs), we investigated physician knowledge and willingness to prescribe naloxone. Less than one in four of the respondents in our sample reported having heard of naloxone prescription as an intervention to prevent opiate overdose, and the majority reported that they would never consider prescribing the agent and explaining its application to a patient. Factors predicting a favorable attitude towards prescribing naloxone included fewer negative perceptions of IDUs, assigning less importance to peer and community pressure not to treat IDUs, and increased confidence in ability to provide meaningful treatment to IDUs. Our data suggest that steps to promote naloxone distribution programs should include physician education about evidence-based harm minimization schemes, broader support for such initiatives by professional organizations, and policy reform to alleviate medicolegal concerns associated with naloxone prescription. FDA re-classification of naloxone for over-the-counter sales and promotion of nasal-delivery mechanism for this agent should be explored.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicians’ Knowledge of and Willingness to Prescribe Naloxone to Reverse Accidental Opiate Overdose: Challenges and Opportunities

et al. 2006

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“…6 An advantage of a formal needle exchange program is that it provides community outreach and education 6 and is calculated to be a cost-effective strategy for HIV prevention. 47 Newer and innovative strategies include obtaining clean needles through a physician's prescription, 48,49 purchasing them through a pharmacy without prescription, 50 and obtaining them through vending machines that mechanically exchange new syringes. 51 Currently there are 10 drop-in centers in Pakistan providing harm reduction services including needle exchange at non-governmental drug detoxification centers and two mobile vans (personal communication: Rehman N; Program Coordinator United Nations Office of Drug Control, Pakistan).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Background demographics and risk behaviors of injecting drug users in Karachi, Pakistan

Parviz

Fatmi

Altaf

et al. 2006

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

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“…In an effort to decrease transmission of HIV between IDUs, prevention interventions including syringe exchange programs, syringe prescription programs, and legalization of syringe purchase at pharmacies were developed and implemented in Rhode Island from 1995–2000 [7-9]. The objective of this study was to examine trends in new HIV diagnoses related to injection drug use and other modes of transmission in Rhode Island from 1990–2003, the time period during which these IDU-related prevention interventions were implemented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A success story: HIV prevention for injection drug users in Rhode Island

Beckwith

Moreira

Aboshady

et al. 2006

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

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Background: New HIV diagnoses related to injection drug use (IDU) have declined in the United States. Access to clean syringes and decreasing HIV transmission among injection drug users have been HIV prevention priorities of the Rhode Island (RI) HIV community. To examine trends in IDUrelated new HIV diagnoses in RI, we performed a retrospective analysis of new HIV diagnoses according to HIV risk factor from 1990-2003.

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A Syringe Prescription Program to Prevent Infectious Disease and Improve Health of Injection Drug Users

Abstract: Injection drug users (IDUs)

Cited by 23 publications

References 33 publications

Physicians’ Knowledge of and Willingness to Prescribe Naloxone to Reverse Accidental Opiate Overdose: Challenges and Opportunities

Physicians’ Knowledge of and Willingness to Prescribe Naloxone to Reverse Accidental Opiate Overdose: Challenges and Opportunities

Background demographics and risk behaviors of injecting drug users in Karachi, Pakistan

A success story: HIV prevention for injection drug users in Rhode Island

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