Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 6, 2025

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry

Published on: April 23, 2019

Assisted injection within supervised injection services: Uptake and client characteristics among people who require

Mary Clare Kennedy¹, M-J Milloy¹, Kanna Hayashi²

¹British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, 400-1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V6Z 2A9; Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V6Z 1Y6.

The International Journal on Drug Policy

|October 11, 2020

Abstract

Background:

People who require help injecting illicit drugs experience elevated rates of a range of health-related harms, including overdose and acquisition of blood-borne pathogens. In response, some supervised injection services (SIS) in Canada have begun to permit clients to be physically injected by fellow clients or staff members. However, little is known about uptake and characteristics of clients who engage in this practice. We therefore sought to examine factors associated with receiving injection assistance at SIS among people who require help injecting drugs in Vancouver, Canada.

Methods:

Data were drawn from two community-recruited prospective cohort studies of people who inject drugs (PWID). We used multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses with time-updated covariates to identify factors associated with self-reported receipt of injection assistance at SIS.

Results:

Between June 2017 and December 2018, 319 individuals who reported having recently required help injecting were included in the study. Of these, 160 (51.0%) were women and the median age was 42 years at baseline. In total, 54 (16.9%) participants reported receiving injection assistance at a SIS at least once over an average of 3.3 months of follow-up. In multivariable GEE analyses, recent homelessness (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13 - 3.66), fentanyl injection (AOR = 3.45; 95% CI: 1.42 - 8.41), non-fatal overdose (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.02 - 3.38) and enrolment in methadone maintenance therapy (AOR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.03 - 3.47) were associated with increased odds of receiving injection assistance at SIS.

Conclusion:

Although uptake of assisted injection at SIS was relatively low among this sample of people who require help injecting, this practice was associated with several indicators of structural vulnerability and drug-related risk. These findings suggest that accommodating assisted injection within SIS may be providing opportunities to engage and reduce harms among higher-risk subpopulations of PWID in this setting.

Keywords:

Assisted injection Canada Generalized estimating equations Harm reduction Injection drug use Supervised injection services

More Related Videos

Methods for Intravenous Self Administration in a Mouse Model

Methods for Intravenous Self Administration in a Mouse Model

Published on: December 8, 2012

The Quantification of Injectability by Mechanical Testing

The Quantification of Injectability by Mechanical Testing

Published on: May 13, 2020

Related Concept Videos

Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Repetitive IV Injections

Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Repetitive IV Injections

Calculating drug dosage and accumulation in multiple-dose regimens is crucial for achieving therapeutic efficacy while avoiding toxicity. This involves determining the plasma drug concentrations over time to optimize dosing schedules. The principle of superposition is fundamental in this process, allowing for the prediction of drug concentration in plasma following multiple doses based on single-dose data.The principle of superposition asserts that the plasma concentration-time curves from...

Insulin Formulations: Types and Delivery

Insulin Formulations: Types and Delivery

Insulin preparations are categorized by their duration of action into short-acting and long-acting types. Two strategies are used to modify insulin's absorption and pharmacokinetic profile: slowing the absorption post-subcutaneous injection, or altering human insulin's amino acid sequence or protein structure. These changes retain the insulin's ability to bind to the insulin receptor, but alter its behavior in solution or after injection.
Short-acting insulins are divided into...

Drug Delivery: Parenteral Route

Drug Delivery: Parenteral Route

The parenteral route is a critical method of drug administration. It delivers compounds directly into the systemic circulation and bypasses the gastrointestinal tract. This approach is particularly advantageous for drugs that exhibit poor absorption or instability when administered orally.
There are three primary parenteral routes: intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), and subcutaneous (SC). The IV route introduces the drug directly into the bloodstream, ensuring immediate action. The IM route...

Community Based Intervention

Community Based Intervention

Community-based interventions in mental health represent a paradigm shift from institution-centered care to treatments embedded within the fabric of local communities. By prioritizing inclusion and leveraging existing societal structures, this approach fosters a supportive environment conducive to addressing mental health challenges while promoting individual dignity and agency.
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...

Nursing Implementation

Nursing Implementation

Implementation is the execution of the nursing care plan developed during the planning phase.
The five steps to implementing effective nursing care include reassessing the patient, reviewing and revising the existing nursing care plan, organizing the resources and care delivery, anticipating and preventing complications, and implementing nursing interventions.

Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Intermittent IV Infusions

Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Intermittent IV Infusions

Intermittent intravenous (IV) infusion is a method of drug administration where medications are delivered over short infusion periods followed by intervals of no drug delivery. This approach helps to prevent sustained high drug concentrations in the bloodstream, reducing the risk of adverse effects associated with prolonged exposure. Unlike continuous infusion, steady-state concentrations may not be achieved during a single dosing cycle but can be reached through repeated...

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Bayesian adaptive designs for the optimisation of implementation strategies: a virtual re-execution of the Physically Active Children in Education (PACE) trials.

Implementation science communications·2026

Participant perspectives on a safe supply program in Vancouver, Canada: impacts, satisfaction and improvement priorities.

Harm reduction journal·2026

Predicting general practice trainee summative fellowship exam performance using commencement-of-training formative assessments: a retrospective cohort study.

BMC medical education·2026

Better outcomes for the older surgical patient trial (BOOST): protocol for a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial of an embedded geriatric perioperative service within emergency and elective surgery in an Australian tertiary referral hospital.

BMJ open·2026

Safe Supply at Insite, North America's First Supervised Consumption Site: A Case Report of Reduced Harms From the Toxic Drug Supply in a Client Prescribed Powdered Fentanyl Alternative.

Drug and alcohol review·2026

Discovery of gene-alcohol interaction loci influencing blood pressure in 1.1 million individuals from multiple populations.

Research square·2026

See all related articles