BACKGROUND Prior research has examined access to syringe exchange program (SEP) services among persons who inject drugs (PWID), but no research has been conducted to evaluate variations in SEP access based on season. This is an important gap in the literature given that seasonal weather patterns and inclement weather may affect SEP service utilization. The purpose of this research is to examine...

There has been widespread support for harm reduction programs as an essential component for responding to the HIV and illicit drug use epidemics. However, despite the growing international acceptance of harm reduction, there continues to be strong opposition to this approach, with critics alleging that harm reduction programs enable drug use. Vancouver, Canada provides a compelling case study t...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID) is a major public health concern in Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia. HIV transmission in this group is growing and over 27 000 HIV cases were diagnosed among PWID in 2010 alone. The objective of this systematic review was to examine risk factors associated with HIV prevalence among PWID in Central and Eastern Europe ...

In 2003 the Government of Cambodia officially began to recognise that harm reduction was an essential approach to preventing HIV among people who use drugs and their sexual partners. Several programs aiming to control and prevent HIV among drug users have been implemented in Cambodia, mostly in the capital, Phnom Penh. However, there have been ongoing tensions between law enforcement and harm r...

Social and cultural forces have led some human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women to question the recommendation in the United States not to breastfeed. Without an open dialogue, women may choose to breastfeed exclusively or intermittently and not disclose this to their provider. We review the evidence from global studies of the risks of breastfeeding among HIV-infected mothers and pro...

The inaugural Collaborative Family Health Care (CFHA) regional conference took place March 17, 2017, in St. Louis, Missouri. The conference theme was opioid use disorders and the potential of medication-assisted treatment using team-based care to address this epidemic. The conference ended with an emphasis on the importance of and strategies for self-care among caregivers working with this popu...

BACKGROUND In Australia, sterile needles and syringes are distributed to people who inject drugs (PWID) through formal services for the purposes of preventing blood borne viruses (BBV). Peer distribution involves people acquiring needles from formal services and redistributing them to others. This paper investigates the dynamics of the distribution of sterile injecting equipment among networks ...

In 2004, a team comprised of researchers and service providers launched the Safer Crack Use, Outreach, Research and Education (SCORE) project in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The project was aimed at developing a better understanding of the harms associated with crack cocaine smoking and determining the feasibility of introducing specific harm reduction strategie...

Homelessness and drug use often overlap and the harms of substance use are exacerbated by homelessness. Responding to the twin problems of homelessness and substance use is an important aspect of strategies to end homelessness. The introduction and development of ten year plans to end homelessness in North America heralds a new era of systemic responses to homelessness. Central to many of these...

Drawing on lessons learned from community experiences in concentrated epidemics, this paper explores three imperatives in the effort to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV: combat prevention fatigue, diversify HIV testing and combat stigma and discrimination. The paper argues for a non-judgmental harm reduction approach to the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV that takes into account t...