Commentary on Brothers et al.: The role of safer environment interventions in addressing injecting‐related bacterial and fungal infections

Abstract

Initiatives including supervised consumption services, access to regulated drug supply and decriminalization could facilitate prevention and improved management of bacterial and fungal injecting-related infections. Harnessing potential synergies between differing types of Safer Environment Interventions could address a broad range of drug-related harms. The examination of social-structural forces influencing incidence and treatment of bacterial and fungal injecting-related infections by Brothers et al. [1] illustrates how particular modifiable environments shape risk for injecting-related infections along a pathway from drug acquisition and injection to health outcomes following infections. This suggests adopting a more social-structural approach to managing bacterial and fungal injecting-related infections is promising, with prioritization of Safer Environment Interventions (SEIs) to reshape environmental drivers.Unsafe consumption spaces, unregulated drug quality and restricted access to risk-reduction equipment and programs are forces driving bacterial and fungal injecting-related infections. These also shape injecting-related harms like blood-borne virus transmission, therefore, the potential of supervised consumption services (SCS), access to regulated drug supply and decriminalization of currently illegal drugs is identified. These initiatives could influence multiple stages