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Published on: April 23, 2019
Comparing new participants of a mobile versus a pharmacy-based needle exchange program
E D Riley1, M Safaeian, S A Strathdee
1Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Summary
Different needle exchange program (NEP) venues attract distinct participants. Mobile van-based sites serve more frequent injectors, while pharmacy-based sites are less utilized by African American participants, highlighting the need for diverse NEP settings.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Substance Use Research
Background:
- Needle exchange programs (NEPs) are crucial for harm reduction among people who inject drugs.
- Understanding participant demographics and drug use patterns is essential for optimizing NEP outreach and effectiveness.
- The availability of both mobile van-based and fixed pharmacy-based NEP sites presents an opportunity to study venue-specific participant characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the characteristics of first-time participants at mobile van-based versus fixed pharmacy-based needle exchange program sites.
- To identify demographic and drug use differences between participants enrolling at different NEP venue types.
- To inform strategies for maximizing reach and engagement within diverse drug-injecting populations.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 286 first-time needle exchange program participants in Baltimore.
- Data collected on demographics and drug use patterns at enrollment between December 1997 and March 1999.
- Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were used to compare participants based on enrollment at van-based versus pharmacy-based sites.
Main Results:
- The majority of participants were African American (92%), female (28%), with a median age of 40, and 55% had completed high school.
- Van-based enrollment was associated with more frequent drug injection (OR=2.0).
- African American participants were less likely to enroll at van-based sites (OR=0.21).
Conclusions:
- Different needle exchange program (NEP) venues attract distinct participant populations.
- Mobile van-based NEPs may be more accessible to frequent injectors.
- Pharmacy-based NEPs may be less accessible to African American participants, suggesting a need for tailored outreach and diverse service delivery models to optimize risk reduction.
- Offering varied NEP venue types is critical for reaching diverse drug-injecting populations and improving harm reduction strategies.
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