ArticleHarm reduction journal2019
"Maybe if I stop the drugs, then maybe they'd care?"-hospital care experiences of people who use drugs.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
109 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 187 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychosocial factors associated with overdose subsequent to Illicit Drug use: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.Harm reduction journal · 2024Pooled it
- Opioid-induced analgesia among persons with opioid use disorder receiving methadone or buprenorphine: A systematic review of experimental pain studies.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Pooled it
- Does perceived stigma impact opioid use disorder treatment uptake? A cross-sectional secondary analysis of buprenorphine engagement among syringe service program participants.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Trial
- Experiences of patients at high risk of opioid overdose accessing emergency department and behavioral health interventions: a qualitative analysis in an urban emergency department.BMC health services research · 2023Trial
- 'We All Try to Imagine What It's Like for Someone to Be Dependent': Attitudes Towards Drug Users Among Medical Students in the United Kingdom and Its Impact on Their Professional Identity Formation.The clinical teacher · 2026Article
- "Safer supply is the thing that changes everything": the role of prescribed safer supply in rebuilding trust following experiences of medical abandonment.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Mapping needles, reducing harm: Findings from a geospatial, community-based needle collection and naloxone training initiative in Saskatchewan, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Patient-Directed Discharge Among Hospitalized Persons With Opioid Use Disorder in the Fentanyl Era: A Scoping Review.American journal of medicine open · 2026Review
- Examining nurses' attitudes toward patients who use substances in the hospital setting: A scoping review.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Review
- Syringe Services Participants' Preferences for Wound Care, HIV/Hepatitis C Virus Screening, and Opioid Use Disorder Treatment: A Discrete Choice Experiment.Value in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research · 2026Article
- Findings from the Process Evaluation of a Mobile Health Clinic Designed to Improve Equity of Access to Primary Healthcare for People with Substance Use Disorders and/or Homelessness in One Region in the North East of England, UK.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- The Role of Psychosocial Stressors in Shaping the Attitudes of Nurses in a Canadian Acute Care Hospital Toward Patients Who Use Substances: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
- Hospital-Based Stigma Practices Towards Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study in Austin, Texas.American journal of medicine open · 2025Article
- Caring for Hospitalized Patients with Substance Use Disorders: An Interprofessional Needs Assessment Survey.American journal of medicine open · 2025Article
- Qualitative analysis of barriers and facilitators to healthcare engagement for people with injecting-related invasive infections using a social ecological framework.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- Exploring the impact of stigma on the health of inclusion health groups: a qualitative scoping review and critical analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Barriers to bystander interventions in suspected opioid-associated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests: A multiple methods study of 9-1-1 calls.Resuscitation · 2025Article
- Bacterial and fungal infections in persons who inject drugs.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- An Advanced Practice Nurse's Contributions to the Care of Opioid-Dependent Patients in an Acute Somatic Hospital: A Qualitative Study.Scandinavian journal of caring sciences · 2025Article
49 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
10 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDrug use is associated with increased morbidity and mortality but people who use drugs experience significant barriers to care. Data are needed about the care experiences of people who use drugs to inform interventions and quality improvement initiatives. The objective of this study is to describe and characterize the experience of acute care for people who use drugs.
methodsWe conducted a qualitative descriptive study. We recruited people with a history of active drug use at the time of an admission to an acute care hospital, who were living with HIV or hepatitis C, in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. Data were collected in 2014 and 2015 through semi-structured interviews, audio-recorded and transcribed, and analyzed thematically.
resultsTwenty-four adults (18 men, 6 women) participated. Participants predominantly recounted experiences of stigma and challenges accessing care. We present the identified themes in two overarching domains of interest: perceived effect of drug use on hospital care and impact of care experiences on future healthcare interactions. Participants described significant barriers to pain management, often resulting in inconsistent and inadequate pain management. They described various strategies to navigate access and receipt of healthcare from being "an easy patient" to self-advocacy. Negative experiences influenced their willingness to seek care, often resulting in delayed care seeking and targeting of certain hospitals.
conclusionDrug use was experienced as a barrier at all stages of hospital care. Interventions to decrease stigma and improve our consistency and approach to pain management are necessary to improve the quality of care and care experiences of those who use drugs.
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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.