Evidence of the Impact of Harm Minimization Programs

Abstract

People who use drugs (PWUD) account for around 275 million worldwide, with a prevalence of those who inject drugs (PWID) ranging from 0.180.30%. Drug injecting behaviors are often associated with harmful forms of use, leading users to a higher risk of infectious diseases, overdose, and death caused, among others, by unsafe practices such as shared needles and syringes. Additional burden from drug use includes costs related to crime combating, social consequences of drug behavior, and lost productivity. From a public health perspective, harm minimization measures defined as a range of interventions aiming at addressing the negative effects of drug use on both individuals and society can be implemented for those who are unable or unwilling to stop using drugs. The most common interventions to minimize drug-related harm include access to naloxone, opioid substitution therapy, supply reduction interventions for opioids, integration of testing and treatment of blood-borne diseases, nonprescription sales or provision of sterile syringes, and supervised drug consumption facilities. In this chapter, we provided a brief overview of drug use disorders and synthetized the evidence around the impact of the available interventions to reduce the harm associated, especially, with injectable drug use. Moreover, the contribution of pharmacists to harm minimization interventions was also revised and discussed in the context of pharmacy practice.