Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
We explored the implementation of a needle and syringe program integrated into a large urban tertiary hospital in Western Canada. The needle and syringe program was administered by an addiction medicine consult team that offers patients access to specialized clinical care and connection to community services.
Findings/Key points
Participants were motivated to accept supplies to prevent injection-related harms and access to supplies was facilitated by trust in consult team staff. However, fears of negative repercussions from non-consult team staff, including premature discharge or undesired changes to medication regimes, caused some participants to hesitate or refuse to accept supplies. Participants described modifications to hospital policies regarding inpatient drug use or access to an inpatient supervised consumption service as potential ways to mitigate patients’ fears.
Design/methods
We utilized a focused ethnographic design and semi-structured interviews to elicit experiences and potential improvements from 25 hospitalized people who inject drugs who were offered supplies from the needle and syringe program.
