SynthesisBMC public health2017
Effectiveness of needle and syringe Programmes in people who inject drugs - An overview of systematic reviews.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers, 5 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
133 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 298 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drug use among people in prison: A global review of epidemiology, harms and interventions.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of harm minimization interventions on reducing blood-borne infection transmission and some injecting behaviors among people who inject drugs: an overview and evidence gap mapping.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Pooled it
- The Impact of Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs on HIV-Related Risk Behaviors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Examining Individual- Versus Community-Level Effects.AIDS and behavior · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Interventions for Prevention of Common Infections Among Opioid Users: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Leveraging the role of community pharmacists in the prevention, surveillance, and treatment of opioid use disorders.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2019Pooled it
- The effect of an educational program on the knowledge and practices of diabetic patients regarding sharps waste disposal at home.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Characteristics associated with motivation to stop substance use and improve skin and needle hygiene among hospitalized patients who inject drugs.Substance abuse · 2022Trial
- Municipal police support for harm reduction services in officer-led referrals of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico.Harm reduction journal · 2021Trial
- A randomized controlled trial of a brief behavioral intervention to reduce skin and soft tissue infections among people who inject drugs.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Exploring Sexually Transmitted and Bloodborne Infection Rates in Florida After Implementation of Syringe Services Programs: A Quasi-Experimental Study.AJPM focus · 2026Article
- Trends in HCV Prevalence and Risk Factors Among People who Inject Drugs in Los Angeles County, 2012-2024.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Rapid Identification of HIV Among People Who Inject Drugs: Tampa, FL, 2024.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Intranasal Mucosal Atomiser Devices: A Novel Harm Reduction Intervention.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Pain is associated with reduced adherence to safer injection practices among people who inject opioids.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Projected Outcomes of Reducing Federal Funding for Syringe Service Programs via Executive Order.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Patterns of polysubstance use among people who use drugs on an American Indian reservation of a southern plains Tribal Nation.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- "No judgment, no preaching": approaches to harm reduction service provision for people who use drugs in North Carolina.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- A comprehensive review of state laws that govern the distribution and possession of drug use equipment in the United States.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Review
- Drug checking services: barriers and facilitators to implementation by U.S. syringe services programs.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Sociodemographic, behavioral, and geospatial factors associated with syringe services program use in San Francisco, California.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNeedle and syringe programmes (NSP) are a critical component of harm reduction interventions among people who inject drugs (PWID). Our primary objective was to summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of NSP for PWID in reducing blood-borne infection transmission and injecting risk behaviours (IRB).
methodsWe conducted an overview of systematic reviews that included PWID (excluding prisons and consumption rooms), addressed community-based NSP, and provided estimates of the effect regarding incidence/prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and bacteremia/sepsis, and/or measures of IRB. Systematic literature searches were undertaken on relevant databases, including EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO (up to May 2015). For each review we identified relevant studies and extracted data on methods, and findings, including risk of bias and quality of evidence assessed by review authors. We evaluated the risk of bias of each systematic review using the ROBIS tool. We categorized reviews by reported outcomes and use of meta-analysis; no additional statistical analysis was performed.
resultsWe included thirteen systematic reviews with 133 relevant unique studies published between 1989 and 2012. Reported outcomes related to HIV (n = 9), HCV (n = 8) and IRB (n = 6). Methods used varied at all levels of design and conduct, with four reviews performing meta-analysis. Only two reviews were considered to have low risk of bias using the ROBIS tool, and most included studies were evaluated as having low methodological quality by review authors. We found that NSP was effective in reducing HIV transmission and IRB among PWID, while there were mixed results regarding a reduction of HCV infection. Full harm reduction interventions provided at structural level and in multi-component programmes, as well as high level of coverage, were more beneficial.
conclusionsThe heterogeneity and the overall low quality of evidence highlights the need for future community-level studies of adequate design to support these results.
trial registrationThe protocol of this systematic review was registered in Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO 2015: CRD42015026145 ).
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.