Assessing and improving needle exchange programs: gaps and problems in the literature

Ksobiech, Kate

doi:10.1186/1477-7517-1-4

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…They may not accurately reflect the ever-evolving patterns of drug use, and as such, their usefulness in terms of developing and planning the service may have diminished over time. Ksobiech [ 55 ] has noted that, to improve needle exchange programmes, there is a need to record more than ‘the basics’, such as needles distributed and returned. In addition, the use of aggregate data meant that a detailed statistical analysis could not be undertaken.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Pharmacy Needle Exchange Programme: What Can Analysis of the Data Tell Us about the Changing Drug Market in Ireland?

Evans,

Harnedy,

Keenan

2024

IJERPH

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Community Pharmacy Needle Exchanges are a harm reduction measure that have been established in a number of countries to provide access to sterile injecting equipment for people who inject drugs (PWID). To ensure that they are meeting needs, it is important to monitor the use of the services. This study aimed to determine patterns of needle distribution and return in community pharmacies in Ireland over time. The number of pharmacies, needle packs, clean needles and returned packs was obtained from the Health Service Executive (HSE) Planning and Business Information Unit (PBI). Yearly totals were calculated to show patterns from 2015 to 2022. There has been an 18% decline in the number of pharmacies providing the service since 2015, with a 19% decline in the number of packs provided and a 21% decline in the number of packs returned. The proportion of packs returned was 23% in 2015 and 18% in 2022. There has been a 16% decline in the number of sterile needles provided and a 6% reduction in the average number of needles per individual since 2017. Declining needle use and low rates of used needle return (against a backdrop of large numbers of PWID that have not significantly reduced over time) suggest that there is a need to investigate if community pharmacies in Ireland have the scope to improve their harm reduction impact. This raises questions in terms of the need to both improve and adapt the service against a backdrop of changing drug markets. Key recommendations include the need to review the harm reduction services employed by participating pharmacies when providing new equipment and organising the return of used equipment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Pharmacy Needle Exchange Programme: What Can Analysis of the Data Tell Us about the Changing Drug Market in Ireland?

Evans,

Harnedy,

Keenan

2024

IJERPH

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“…Other approaches may include over the counter medications or even care in maintaining hydration with club drugs [45]. Needle exchange programs have been a highly visible and controversial approach to harm reduction that targets the high levels of risk associated with sharing intravenous drug administration supplies [46].…”

Section: Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substance Abuse Therapeutics

Mills¹

2016

Recent Advances in Drug Addiction Research and Clinical Applications

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This chapter provides a broad overview of therapies for substance abuse. These therapies are understood in the context of the history of drug use in the United States and factors that influenced the expansion and regulation of substance use. This is followed by a discussion of how the complexity of these factors was associated with difficulties in understanding substance misuse and created challenges to the creation of effective treatment systems. The chapter reviews the moral and disease models of addiction before discussing the diagnosis of substance-related disorders. The chapter describes major treatment approaches and their efficacy.

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Case 15—A Patient’s Right to Treatment (and a Surgeon’s Right to Refuse)

Roscoe¹,

Schenck

2017

Communication and Bioethics at the End of Life

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Assessing and improving needle exchange programs: gaps and problems in the literature

Cited by 7 publications

References 22 publications

Community Pharmacy Needle Exchange Programme: What Can Analysis of the Data Tell Us about the Changing Drug Market in Ireland?

Community Pharmacy Needle Exchange Programme: What Can Analysis of the Data Tell Us about the Changing Drug Market in Ireland?

Substance Abuse Therapeutics

Case 15—A Patient’s Right to Treatment (and a Surgeon’s Right to Refuse)

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