TY - JOUR
T1 - High willingness to use overdose prevention sites among female sex workers in Baltimore, Maryland
AU - Rouhani, Saba
AU - White, Rebecca Hamilton
AU - Park, Ju Nyeong
AU - Sherman, Susan G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2020/7/1
Y1 - 2020/7/1
N2 - Background: Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) operate worldwide as spaces where people can consume previously purchased drugs under supervision, and are linked to reductions in HIV/HCV transmission and fatal overdoses. As the United States weighs their merits and legality, research is needed to estimate acceptability and use among populations at high risk for overdose. We examine willingness to use OPS among street-based female sex workers (FSW) with prevalent drug use and associated morbidities. Methods: We describe self-reported willingness, barriers and conditions around use of a hypothetical OPS among 141 FSW engaged in active drug use in Baltimore City, and describe trends using Pearson's χ2 and Fisher's exact tests. Results: Most women had history of overdose (55 %) and were likely to use OPS (77 %). Willingness was higher among women who: were sexual minorities (97 %;P=0.002),experienced homelessness (82 %;P=0.019), injected drugs (82 %;P=0.013), shared syringes (82 %;P=0.007), experienced sexual violence (92 %;P=0.045) or reported heroin use (83 %;P=0.039) in the past 3 months. Common anticipated barriers included transportation (45 %) and fear of arrest (41 %). Conclusions: This study highlights a population of uniquely high-risk women who would benefit from an OPS integrated with other services. Conditions and barriers discussed are informative for planning and implementation.
AB - Background: Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) operate worldwide as spaces where people can consume previously purchased drugs under supervision, and are linked to reductions in HIV/HCV transmission and fatal overdoses. As the United States weighs their merits and legality, research is needed to estimate acceptability and use among populations at high risk for overdose. We examine willingness to use OPS among street-based female sex workers (FSW) with prevalent drug use and associated morbidities. Methods: We describe self-reported willingness, barriers and conditions around use of a hypothetical OPS among 141 FSW engaged in active drug use in Baltimore City, and describe trends using Pearson's χ2 and Fisher's exact tests. Results: Most women had history of overdose (55 %) and were likely to use OPS (77 %). Willingness was higher among women who: were sexual minorities (97 %;P=0.002),experienced homelessness (82 %;P=0.019), injected drugs (82 %;P=0.013), shared syringes (82 %;P=0.007), experienced sexual violence (92 %;P=0.045) or reported heroin use (83 %;P=0.039) in the past 3 months. Common anticipated barriers included transportation (45 %) and fear of arrest (41 %). Conclusions: This study highlights a population of uniquely high-risk women who would benefit from an OPS integrated with other services. Conditions and barriers discussed are informative for planning and implementation.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108042
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108042
M3 - Article
C2 - 32416474
AN - SCOPUS:85084454903
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 212
JO - Drug and alcohol dependence
JF - Drug and alcohol dependence
M1 - 108042
ER -