“When people who use drugs can’t differentiate between medical care and cops, it’s a problem.” Compounding risks of law Enforcement Harassment & Punitive Healthcare Policies

Original research

Ostrach, Bayla, Vanessa Hixon & Ainsley Bryce

Release Date

2024

Geography

USA

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

Yes

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Yes

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

To assess the successes and impacts of a grant-funded project to increase access to safer drug consumption supplies and overdose prevention education for PWUD, including justice-involved participants of a syringe access program (SAP), in public housing and beyond in a South-Central Appalachian setting.

Findings/Key points

Overall, the evaluation research found that participants’ experiences with and perceptions of local law enforcement harassment combined with their understandings and experiences of local punitive healthcare settings and policies; together compounding and increasing overdose risks and negative health consequences for local justice-involved PWUD.

Design/methods

Mixed methods

doi.org

Keywords

Legal system/law enforcement

About PWUD

Policy/Regulatory