Helping behaviour among people who use drugs: Altruism and mutual aid in a harm reduction program

Ex-Convicts in an Official Role of Peer-Supporters: Toward Convict Therapy

The present paper focuses on the strengths-based role of the wounded healer, as exemplified by current or released incarcerated people who desist from crime and recover through professional practice of peer support, in the community or in prison. The paper has two purposes. One is to review criminological approaches and models related to peer-based rehabilitation and to encompass them under a single term proposed here-Convict Therapy. The second is to review research on peer support programs currently implemented in in various countries, in a bid to discern their hallmarks and strengths. This to enrich and promote the discourse, research, and practice of this evolving field, and to offer new research directions for examining the effectiveness of peer support in the long run, for the aid providers, the recipients, and the community.

"That's why we're speaking up today": exploring barriers to overdose fatality prevention in Indianapolis' Black community with semi-structured interviews

BACKGROUND

Opioid overdose deaths are of great concern to public health, with over one million lives lost since 1999. While many efforts have been made to mitigate these, Black communities continue to experience a greater burden of fatalities than their white counterparts. This study aims to explore why by working with Black community members in Indianapolis through semi-structured interviews.

METHODS

Semi-structured one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted in spring and summer of 2023 with Black residents (N = 23) of zip codes 46202, 46205, 46208, and 46218 in Indianapolis. Ten interview questions were used to facilitate conversations about opioid overdoses, recovery, fatality prevention tools such as calling 911 and naloxone, law enforcement, and racism. Data were analyzed using grounded theory and thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Interviews revealed access barriers and intervention opportunities. Racism was present in both. Mental access barriers such as stigma, fear, and mistrust contributed to practical barriers such as knowledge of how to administer naloxone. Racism exacerbated mental barriers by adding the risk of race-based mistreatment to consequences related to association with substance use. Participants discussed the double stigma of substance use and being Black, fear of being searched in law enforcement encounters and what would happen if law enforcement found naloxone on them, and mistrust of law enforcement and institutions that provide medical intervention. Participants had favorable views of interventions that incorporated mutual aid and discussed ideas for future interventions that included this framework.

CONCLUSIONS

Racism exacerbates Blacks' mental access barriers (i.e., help-seeking barriers), which, in turn, contribute to practical barriers, such as calling 911 and administering naloxone. Information and resources coming from people within marginalized communities tend to be trusted. Leveraging inter-community relationships may increase engagement in opioid overdose fatality prevention. Interventions and resources directed toward addressing opioid overdose fatalities in Black communities should use mutual aid frameworks to increase the utilization of the tools they provide.

Factors associated with take-home naloxone kit usage in British Columbia: an analysis of administrative data

BACKGROUND

The British Columbia (BC) Take-Home Naloxone (THN) program provides naloxone to people at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose for use in reversing suspected overdose events. This study seeks to examine trends and correlates of individuals obtaining a THN kit in BC between 2017 and 2020.

METHODS

Records of THN kits distributed between 2017 and 2020 were the primary source of data for this analysis. Frequency tables were used to describe characteristics of people obtaining kits from THN sites. Correlates of individuals obtaining a THN kit to replace a previous kit reported as used to reverse an overdose were assessed with multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

Between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020, 240,606 THN kits were reported distributed by registered sites to members of the public, with 90,011 records indicating that a kit was obtained to replace a previous kit that had been used to reverse an overdose. There was a significant trend in increasing kits reported used by year (p < 0.01). The kit recipient's risk of overdose was a significant predictor of having reported using a THN kit, and the strength of the association was dependent on gender (Male: Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 5.37 [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.08 - 5.67]; Female: AOR 8.35 [95% CI 7.90 - 8.82]; Trans and gender expansive: AOR 3.68 [95% CI 2.82 - 4.79]).

CONCLUSIONS

Between 2017 and 2020, THN kits were used to reverse tens of thousands of overdose events in BC, with people at risk of overdose (i.e. people who use drugs [PWUD]) having greater odds of using a kit to reverse an overdose than those not at risk. Thus, PWUD are responsible for reversing the vast majority of overdoses. THN kits are being distributed to the people who use them most. However, additional strategies in conjunction with community-based naloxone distribution programs are needed to address the rising number of illicit drug toxicity deaths.

Lay knowledge and practices of methamphetamine use to manage opioid-related overdose risks

AIM

Methamphetamine use has increased among individuals with opioid use disorder. The key aims of this study are to detail and contextualise lay knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours related to methamphetamine use in relation to opioid overdose risks in an area dominated by non-pharmaceutical fentanyl-type drugs (NPF).

METHODS

The study recruited 41 individuals in Dayton, Ohio, who reported past 30-day use of methamphetamine and heroin/fentanyl. Interviews included structured and qualitative questions. Urine toxicology analysis was conducted to identify NPFs and other drugs. Open-ended interview sections were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed qualitatively using NVivo.

RESULTS

The mean age was 38.3 years, 51% were female, and 100% non-Hispanic white. Participants described an exceedingly unpredictable local opioid market that became saturated with NPFs. The sample tested positive for 10 NPFs, including fentanyl (100%), acetyl fentanyl (61%), tetrahydrofuran fentanyl (29%), and carfentanil (12%). Most participants believed that methamphetamine could help prevent and/or reverse an opioid-related overdose. Nearly half had personally used it to help manage overdose risks related to NPF. These beliefs were embedded in a lay understanding of how methamphetamine works to stimulate the cardiovascular system. They were acted upon in the context of last resort situations that were determined by a lack of immediate access to naloxone, ambiguities surrounding overdose symptomatology, and easy access to plentiful and inexpensive methamphetamine.

CONCLUSION

Lay efforts to rely on methamphetamine to manage NPF-related overdose risks highlight the need for a continuing expansion of take-home-naloxone programs and implementation of other novel harm reduction approaches in communities affected by NPFs.

Decision-making by laypersons equipped with an emergency response smartphone app for opioid overdose

BACKGROUND

Targeted naloxone distribution to potential lay responders increases the timeliness of overdose response and reduces mortality. Little is known, however, about the patterns of decision-making among overdose lay responders. This study explored heuristic decision-making among laypersons equipped with an emergency response smartphone app.

METHODS

UnityPhilly, a smartphone app that connects lay responders equipped with naloxone to overdose victims, was piloted in Philadelphia from March 2019 to February 2020. Participants used the app to signal overdose alerts to peer app users and emergency medical services, or respond to alerts by arriving at overdose emergency sites. This study utilised in-depth interviews, background information, and app use data from a sample of 18 participants with varying histories of opioid use and levels of app use activity.

RESULTS

The sample included 8 people who used opioids non-medically in the past 30 days and 10 people reporting no opioid misuse. Three prevailing, not mutually exclusive, heuristics were identified. The heuristic of unconditional signalling ("Always signal for help or backup") was used by 7 people who valued external assistance and used the app as a replacement for a 911 call; this group had the highest number of signalled alerts and on-scene appearances. Nine people, who expressed confidence in their ability to address an overdose themselves, followed a heuristic of conditional signalling ("Rescue, but only signal if necessary"); these participants had the highest frequency of prior naloxone administrations. Eleven participants used the heuristic of conditional responding ("Assess if I can make a difference"), addressing an alert if they carried naloxone, were nearby, or received a signal before dark hours.

CONCLUSION

The deployment of specific heuristics was influenced by prior naloxone use and situational factors. Success of overdose prevention interventions assisted by digital technologies may depend on the involvement of people with diverse overdose rescue backgrounds.

Psychosocial Needs of Parents Engaged in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Background: Little research has examined the needs of parents with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are receiving medications for OUD (MOUDs), which is striking given growing rates of OUD among parents. Objective: The current study expands the literature by examining psychiatric, psychosocial, and parenting-related functioning, as well as 12-month MOUD treatment retention among parents versus non-parents participating in a buprenorphine program at an academic family medicine residency clinic. Methods: Patients (N = 144; 61 parents) completed measures of psychiatric and psychosocial functioning at the first MOUD visit; parents also completed measures of parental functioning. Results: Parents endorsed less anxiety and loneliness, as well as greater social connection, life satisfaction, and life meaning. Parents were also older, more likely to be female, of a race other than white, married, employed, and had higher incomes. Although parents endorsed high levels of parental self-agency and strong bonds with children, many also reported elevated parental shame. Among parents, higher levels of shame were also associated with higher depression, anxiety, anger, stress, and loneliness. Over 25% of parents reported that a child lived with friends/relatives over 3 months, and 11% noted a child having been removed from the home by child protective services. Finally, parents were more likely to be retained in treatment at 12 months, although this finding was non-significant after controlling for covariates. Conclusions/Importance: These findings illustrate the needs experienced by parents engaged in MOUD treatment, which may prove valuable in informing policy, program development, and treatment approaches for parents with OUD.