ArticleHarm reduction journal2016
Peer-engagement and its role in reducing the risky behavior among crack and methamphetamine smokers of the Downtown Eastside community of Vancouver, Canada.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparison of the Treatments in Crack Use Disorder: A Systematic Review.European addiction research · 2026Pooled it
- The utilization and delivery of safer smoking practices and services: a narrative synthesis of the literature.Harm reduction journal · 2023Pooled it
- Implementation and sustainability of safe consumption sites: a qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis.Harm reduction journal · 2022Pooled it
- Public Health and Public Order Outcomes Associated with Supervised Drug Consumption Facilities: a Systematic Review.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2017Pooled it
- The power of people who use drugs as mass media influencers in changing public opinion during the global overdose epidemic.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- Harm-Reduction Programs and Interventions for Equity-Deserving Populations Who Use Crack-Cocaine: A Scoping Review.European addiction research · 2026Article
- Characterizing 'Atmosphere': exploring determinants of regular service attendance amongst integrated supervised consumption site clients in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- A major stakeholder in the lobbying efforts: the role of people who use drugs in the past and the current opioid crisis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Responding to an evolving crisis: Meeting the needs of a growing population who smoke their unregulated substances.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025Article
- Four decades of overdose prevention centres: lessons for the future from a realist review.Harm reduction journal · 2025Review
- Using RE-AIM Framework to Evaluate Recovery Opioid Overdose Team Plus: A Peer-Led Post-overdose Quick Response Team.Community mental health journal · 2025Article
- The opioid epidemic and accessibility to free Wi-Fi: internet access is a human rights issue.Harm reduction journal · 2024Review
- Support for Safe Consumption Sites Among Peer Recovery Coaches.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2024Article
- Safe inhalation pipe provision (SIPP): protocol for a mixed-method evaluation of an intervention to improve health outcomes and service engagement among people who use crack cocaine in England.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- An evaluation of the Compassion, Inclusion, and Engagement initiative: learning from PWLE and communities across British Columbia.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Not all screens are created equal: examination of surface features and other physical properties of commonly used screen materials for smoking drugs.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Access to oral care is a human rights issue: a community action report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2022Review
- Core competencies of peer workers who use pulse oximeters to supplement their overdose response in British Columbia.PloS one · 2022Article
- Organizational support for frontline harm reduction and systems navigation work among workers with living and lived experience: qualitative findings from British Columbia, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2021Article
- "Running myself ragged": stressors faced by peer workers in overdose response settings.Harm reduction journal · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe role of peers (former or current drug users) in reducing risky behavior within methamphetamine and crack smokers has not been well described or researched. The current study not only explores the role of peers in reducing risk factors for morbidity within the illicit drug smoking population in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) community of Vancouver but it also investigates the changes in the nature of drug use after the closure of an unsanctioned smoking facility.
methodsThe data pertain to qualitative interviews with 10 peers and 10 illicit drug smokers. The semi-structured interviews were conducted through community-based research, and the digital transcripts were analyzed via NVivo 10 software.
resultsThe results indicate that peers (former and current drug users who are employed as educators) are instrumental in transferring risk reduction knowledge within crack and methamphetamine smokers. For example, these peers have been able to teach users about the risk of sharing pipes, using brillo, and using public drug. Furthermore, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users provides employment for crack and methamphetamine users in Vancouver who tend to have scarce sources of employment. However, since the closure of the unsanctioned inhalation facility, there has been significantly more public drug use and pipe sharing in the vicinity of the facility, placing drug smokers at significant risk of arrest, violence, and blood-borne infections.
conclusionsThe current study recommends expanding the harm reduction peer network for people who smoke illicit drugs in the DTES community of Vancouver who have historically been underserved.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.