Abstract
Background: Personal syringe reuse (i.e., reuse of one's own syringes) can place people who inject drugs at increased risk for infectious disease but has received relatively little attention in published literature. The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with syringe reuse among people who inject drugs in rural Kentucky. Methods: Participants (n = 238) completed interviewer-administered questionnaires on syringe reuse and demographic, behavioral, and service access characteristics. Unadjusted negative binomial regression with cluster-robust standard errors was used to model the associations with a logged offset for number of injections in the past 30 days. Results: The average age of the sample was 35 and 59.7 % were male. Most participants (77.7 %) reused syringes at least once in the past 30 days, using each syringe a median of three times. Reuse was higher among those who were older and reported a higher street price for syringes. Syringe reuse was lower among people who were within walking distance to a syringe service program (SSP) and who obtained most of their syringes from SSPs or pharmacies. Conclusion: Syringe reuse among people who inject drugs in rural Kentucky is common. However, these data suggest that increased access to syringes from SSPs and pharmacies, as well as policy-level interventions that reduce street syringe price, might reduce syringe reuse and related harms.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 104422 |
| Journal | International Journal of Drug Policy |
| Volume | 128 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
Funding
The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant # UG3 DA044798 and UH3 DA044798 , PIs: Young, Cooper) with co-funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, CDC, SAMHSA, the Department of Health and Human Services, or ARC . We would also like to acknowledge the important contributions of our study participants, CARE2HOPE staff, the community coalitions, advisory board members, and community partners. The protocol described in this manuscript was approved by the institutional University of Kentucky Institutional Review Board (protocol # 43520). All procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation in study activities. The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant #UG3/UH3 DA044798, PIs: Young, Cooper) with co-funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, CDC, SAMHSA, the Department of Health and Human Services, or ARC. Not applicable. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the highly sensitive nature of the data but may be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant # UG3 DA044798 and UH3 DA044798, PIs: Young, Cooper) with co-funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, CDC, SAMHSA, the Department of Health and Human Services, or ARC. We would also like to acknowledge the important contributions of our study participants, CARE2HOPE staff, the community coalitions, advisory board members, and community partners.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | |
| Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration | |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Institute on Drug Abuse | UH3 DA044798 |
| University of Kentucky Medical Institutional Review Board | 43520 |
| U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | UH3 DA044798, UG3 DA044798 |
Keywords
- Injection drug use
- Needle reuse
- Rural
- Syringe reuse
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Health Policy
