We utilized a modified Delphi approach to develop a set of best practices for OEND delivery. The top 5 ranked best practices were ensuring that SSP participants have low barrier, consistent, needs-based access to naloxone and that there is ample naloxone available within communities. While the remaining fifteen best practices were deemed important, they had more to do with organizational culture and implementation climate.
Type: Advocacy
Best practices for community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution programs: results from using the Delphi approach
Overdose Prevention Centers, Crime, and Disorder in New York City
This cohort study found no significant increases in crimes recorded by the police or calls for emergency service in NYC neighborhoods where 2 OPCs were located. Consistent with the city’s commitment to ensuring clients could use the centers free from law enforcement interference, large, statistically significant declines in police narcotics enforcement around the OPCs were observed. These findings suggest that concerns about crime and disorder remain substantial barriers to the expansion of OPCs in US cities, and initial data from NYC do not support these concerns.
OPC Info
The People Place and Health Collective (PPHC) of Brown University School of Public Health established this website as a nexus for research about overdose prevention centers. It includes a searchable database of all papers published on OPCs plus fact sheets, infographics, and other resources.
Supervised Injection Facilities as Harm Reduction: A Systematic Review
Supervised injection facilities in included studies were mostly associated with significant reductions in opioid overdose morbidity and mortality, significant improvements in injection behaviors and harm reduction, significant improvements in access to addiction treatment programs, and no increase or reductions in crime and public nuisance.
Distribution of Safer Drug Smoking Supplies as a Public Health Strategy
In Washington State, as across the country, fentanyl has rapidly become a primary opioid in the illicit drug supply. Fentanyl, especially in its pill form, is most often smoked rather than injected, both by individuals who are new to opioid use and by those experienced in injecting black tar heroin. Along with a parallel increase in the use of methamphetamine, which is also commonly smoked, the prevalence of opioid and stimulant smoking is quickly overtaking injection as a primary and frequent route of administration. This brief describes the current landscape of safer smoking equipment distribution in Washington State and nationally, the evidence supporting this intervention, legal issues, and areas for further research.
The utilization and delivery of safer smoking practices and services: a narrative synthesis of the literature
This global review found that safer smoking practices are essential forms of harm reduction. People who use drugs in several studies reported that pipe sharing occurred for multiple reasons, including wanting to accumulate crack resin and protect themselves from social harms, such as police harassment. Across studies, smoking drugs, as opposed to injecting drugs, were described as a crucial method to reduce the risk of overdose, disease acquisition, and societal harms such as police violence.
Lessons Learned During the Launch of Syringe Services Programs in Michigan
The rapidity with which syringe services programs were scaled up across Michigan is a noteworthy public health achievement; however, it also underscores the scale of the modern addiction and overdose crisis and the need for evidence-based services. This report aims to “tell the story” of syringe services program implementation in communities throughout Michigan and describe the lessons learned by program operators.
WA DOH compilation of peer-reviewed research
A compilation of research covering topics including: cost effectiveness, expert guidance, healthcare access point, infectious disease prevention, injecting risk, SSP operations considerations, and syringe disposal outcomes
CDC – Safety and Effectiveness of Syringe Services Programs (2024)
Syringe services programs (SSPs) are proven and effective community-based prevention programs that can provide a range of services. SSPs protect the public and first responders by facilitating the safe disposal of used needles and syringes.
