ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2018
Safe and unsafe spaces: Non-fatal overdose, arrest, and receptive syringe sharing among people who inject drugs in public and semi-public spaces in Baltimore City.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.
- Harms associated with injecting in public spaces: a global systematic review and meta-analysis.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Pooled it
- Injection Drug Use Frequency Before and After Take-Home Naloxone Training.JAMA network open · 2023Pooled it
- Socioenvironmental disasters and the dialectics of overdose mortality.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Daily polysubstance use associated with HIV, HCV, and non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs: A latent class analysis using nationwide data.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- Toward a risk-based autopsy framework: identifying pre-autopsy predictors of illicit substance use.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- The role of impulsivity in injection-related risk behaviours among people who inject drugs in Montreal, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Prevalence and correlates of multiple injections per injection episode among people who inject drugs in rural U.S. communities.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Barriers and recommendations for harm reduction services among people living with HIV in Manitoba, Canada: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Rural houselessness among people who use drugs in the United States: Results from the National Rural Opioid Initiative.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- The relationship between felt stigma and non-fatal overdose among rural people who use drugs.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- High willingness to use overdose prevention sites among suburban people who use drugs who do not inject.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Injection partnership characteristics and HCV status associations with syringe and equipment sharing among people who inject drugs.BMC public health · 2023Article
- "I don't want to die": a qualitative study of coping strategies to prevent fentanyl-related overdose deaths among people who inject drugs and its implications for harm reduction policies.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Factors associated with receptive injection equipment sharing among people who inject drugs: findings from a multistate study at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- The practice and embodiment of "goofballs": A qualitative study exploring the co-injection of methamphetamines and opioids.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- Prevalence and associates of non-fatal overdose among people who inject drugs in Saveh, Iran.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Article
- Structural and community changes during COVID-19 and their effects on overdose precursors among rural people who use drugs: a mixed-methods analysis.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Article
- Health impacts of a scale-up of supervised injection services in a Canadian setting: an interrupted time series analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Article
- Factors Associated with Likelihood of Initiating Others into Injection Drug Use Among People Who Inject Drugs in West Virginia.AIDS and behavior · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The spaces in which drug use occurs constitutes a key aspect of the "risk environment" of people who inject drugs (PWID). We aimed to add nuance to the characterization of "safe" and "unsafe" spaces in PWID's environments to further understand how these spaces amplify the risk of morbidities associated with injection drug use. PWID were recruited through the Baltimore City syringe service program and through peer referral. Participants completed a socio-behavioral survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associations between utilization of public, semi-public and private spaces with arrest, non-fatal overdose, and receptive syringe sharing. The sample of PWID (N = 283) was mostly 45 years and older (54%), male (69%), Black (55%), and heroin users (96%). Compared to PWID who primarily used private settings, the adjusted odds of recent overdose were greater among PWID who mostly used semi-public and public locations to inject drugs. We also found independent associations between arrest and semi-public spaces, and between receptive syringe sharing and public spaces (all p < 0.05). This study highlights the need for safe spaces where PWID can reduce their risk of overdose, likelihood of arrest and blood-borne diseases, and the dual potential of the environment in promoting health and risk.
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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.