TY - JOUR
T1 - Take-home naloxone possession among people who inject drugs in rural West Virginia
AU - Allen, Sean
AU - White, Rebecca Hamilton
AU - O'Rourke, Allison
AU - Grieb, Suzanne M.
AU - Kilkenny, Michael E.
AU - Sherman, Susan G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to Dr. Sean T. Allen. This research has been facilitated by the infrastructure and resources provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research ( P30AI094189 ) and the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research ( AI117970 ). STA is also supported by the National Institutes of Health ( K01DA046234 ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection, or in analysis and interpretation of the results, and this paper does not necessarily reflect views or opinions of the funders. We are grateful to the collaboration of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, without whom, this project would not have been possible. We are especially grateful to Tim Hazelett, Thommy Hill, Tyler Deering, Kathleen Napier, Jeff Keatley, Michelle Perdue, Chad Helig, and Charles “CK” Babcock for all their support throughout the study implementation. We are also grateful for the hard work of the West Virginia COUNTS! research team: Megan Keith, Anne Maynard, Aspen McCorkle, Terrance Purnell, Ronaldo Ramirez, Kayla Rodriguez, Lauren Shappell, Kristin Schneider, Brad Silberzahn, Dominic Thomas, Kevin Williams, and Hayat Yusuf. We gratefully acknowledge the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. We also wish to acknowledge Josh Sharfstein, Michelle Spencer, Dori Henry, and Akola Francis for their support throughout each phase of this research. Most importantly, we are grateful to our study participants.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to Dr. Sean T. Allen. This research has been facilitated by the infrastructure and resources provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research (P30AI094189) and the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (AI117970). STA is also supported by the National Institutes of Health (K01DA046234). The funders had no role in study design, data collection, or in analysis and interpretation of the results, and this paper does not necessarily reflect views or opinions of the funders. We are grateful to the collaboration of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, without whom, this project would not have been possible. We are especially grateful to Tim Hazelett, Thommy Hill, Tyler Deering, Kathleen Napier, Jeff Keatley, Michelle Perdue, Chad Helig, and Charles “CK” Babcock for all their support throughout the study implementation. We are also grateful for the hard work of the West Virginia COUNTS! research team: Megan Keith, Anne Maynard, Aspen McCorkle, Terrance Purnell, Ronaldo Ramirez, Kayla Rodriguez, Lauren Shappell, Kristin Schneider, Brad Silberzahn, Dominic Thomas, Kevin Williams, and Hayat Yusuf. We gratefully acknowledge the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. We also wish to acknowledge Josh Sharfstein, Michelle Spencer, Dori Henry, and Akola Francis for their support throughout each phase of this research. Most importantly, we are grateful to our study participants.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - Background: Take-home naloxone (THN) possession among people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural communities is understudied. Better understanding the nature of THN possession among rural PWID could inform the implementation of overdose prevention initiatives. The purpose of this research is to determine factors associated with rural PWID having recently received THN. Methods: Data from a PWID population estimation study implemented in Cabell County, West Virginia were used for this research. Multivariable Poisson regression with a robust variance estimator was used to evaluate the independent effects of several measures (e.g., sociodemographics, structural vulnerabilities, substance use) on PWID having received THN in the past 6 months. Results: Forty-eight percent of our sample (n = 371) of PWID reported having received THN in the past 6 months. Factors associated with having received THN were: age (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [aPR] = 1.02; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.01–1.03), having recently accessed sterile syringes at a needle exchange program (aPR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.35–2.46), believing that doctors judge people who use drugs (aPR = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.07–2.12), and having witnessed at least one non-fatal overdose in the past 6 months (aPR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.06–1.94). Greater numbers of overdose events in the past 6 months were also associated with having received THN. Conclusions: Among rural PWID in West Virginia, slightly less than half received THN in the past 6 months. Rural communities need overdose prevention interventions that are responsive to the unique needs of rural PWID, decrease stigma, and ensure PWID have access to harm reduction services and drug treatment programs.
AB - Background: Take-home naloxone (THN) possession among people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural communities is understudied. Better understanding the nature of THN possession among rural PWID could inform the implementation of overdose prevention initiatives. The purpose of this research is to determine factors associated with rural PWID having recently received THN. Methods: Data from a PWID population estimation study implemented in Cabell County, West Virginia were used for this research. Multivariable Poisson regression with a robust variance estimator was used to evaluate the independent effects of several measures (e.g., sociodemographics, structural vulnerabilities, substance use) on PWID having received THN in the past 6 months. Results: Forty-eight percent of our sample (n = 371) of PWID reported having received THN in the past 6 months. Factors associated with having received THN were: age (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [aPR] = 1.02; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.01–1.03), having recently accessed sterile syringes at a needle exchange program (aPR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.35–2.46), believing that doctors judge people who use drugs (aPR = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.07–2.12), and having witnessed at least one non-fatal overdose in the past 6 months (aPR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.06–1.94). Greater numbers of overdose events in the past 6 months were also associated with having received THN. Conclusions: Among rural PWID in West Virginia, slightly less than half received THN in the past 6 months. Rural communities need overdose prevention interventions that are responsive to the unique needs of rural PWID, decrease stigma, and ensure PWID have access to harm reduction services and drug treatment programs.
KW - Harm reduction
KW - Injection drug use
KW - Overdose
KW - People who inject drugs
KW - Rural health
KW - Take-home naloxone
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072649471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85072649471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107581
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107581
M3 - Article
C2 - 31574407
AN - SCOPUS:85072649471
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 204
JO - Drug and alcohol dependence
JF - Drug and alcohol dependence
M1 - 107581
ER -