“This increase in drug-related deaths was thought to be driven by a combination of numerous factors, including an increasingly volatile unregulated drug supply, barriers to accessing harm reduction services and treatment, and physical distancing requirements leading to more people using drugs alone”
Prelim. patterns around opioid-related deaths in ON during COVID-19
Understanding the circumstances that contribute to these deaths is urgently needed to inform interventions and policies to prevent opioid-related mortality in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Convergent risk of COVID-19 and bacterial and viral infections among PWUD
Without access to harm reduction, PWUD are potentially at greater risk of acquiring blood-borne viruses
Impact of COVID-19 on people who use drugs
Pandemic response measures such as physical distancing and social isolation have disrupted the healthcare and support services that people who use or have used substances and their communities typically rely on.
Syringe services program operational changes during COVID-19 outbreak
Preliminary data regarding SSP operational and service delivery changes during the US’ response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and provide key policy and service provision im- plications for SSPs.
Expanded Response Options to Opioid Harms: Case Study from Four Cities
COVID-19 pandemic compounds an ongoing public health crisis. There is a heightened need to reduce avoidable pressures on healthcare systems and support people who use opioids.
‘Safer opioid distribution’ as an essential public health intervention for opioid mortality crisis
Given the persistent opioid mortality crisis especially in North America, the time has come to move towards providing risk population-wide SOD as an essential public health intervention
A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Across the Globe
Targeting people who use drugs has not only a negative impact on individuals, but their families and broader society
COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use
Measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are having a mixed impact on the drug supply chain