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Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
We sought to characterize drug use behaviors of individuals following the overdose of someone in their social network.
Findings/Key points
Several participants described increasing their drug use or using more types of drugs than usual to manage feelings of bereavement and trauma, and a subset of these participants described increased drug use with suicidal intention and increased suicidal ideations following the overdose event. Other participants described reducing their drug use and engaging in protective behaviors in response to heightened perceived overdose risk, protection motivation (i.e., increased motivation to protect oneself), and concern for others. Additionally, some participants reported no change in drug use behaviors, and these participants described already engaging in harm reduction practices, feeling desensitized due to frequent or repeated exposure to overdose, and ambivalence about living.
Design/methods
Semi-structured interviews (n=25)