ArticleHarm reduction journal2021
Health literacy and changes in pattern of drug use among participants at the Stockholm Needle Exchange Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding the Impacts of Novel Coronavirus Outbreaks on People Who Use Drugs: A Systematic Review to Inform Practice and Drug Policy Responses to COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hepatitis C care across the cascade of care: a scoping review.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- All-cause mortality and overdose deaths among 4192 people who inject drugs in Stockholm: a 10-year register-based cohort study.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and humoral immune responses to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines among people who use drugs - in the light of tailored mitigating strategies.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Estimating the impact of a police education program on hepatitis C virus transmission and disease burden among people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico: A dynamic modeling analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Observational
- Prevalence and correlates of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity among people who inject drugs in Baltimore, Maryland.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Prevalence, risk factors, treatment uptake and treatment outcome of hepatitis C virus in people who inject drugs at the needle and syringe program in Uppsala, Sweden.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Real-world hepatitis C treatment outcomes and reinfections among people who inject drugs at a needle and syringe program in Stockholm, Sweden.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Sweden's first Take-Home Naloxone program: participant characteristics, dose endpoints and predictors for overdose reversals.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence, correlates, and access to harm reduction services among people who inject drugs living with and without HIV and their partners in Kenya.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Remote harm reduction services are key solutions to reduce the impact of COVID-19-like crises on people who use drugs: evidence from two independent structures in France and in the USA.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for substance misuse services: findings from a peer-led study.Harm reduction journal · 2022Article
- "Maintaining HIV and HCV prevention and care for people who inject drugs despite COVID-19 in Hai Phong, Vietnam".The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- Modelling the contribution of incarceration and public health oriented drug law reform to HCV transmission and elimination among PWID in Tijuana, Mexico.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 lockdown on expansion of HIV transmission clusters among key populations: A retrospective phylogenetic analysis.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2022Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on the characteristics of opioid overdose deaths in Arkansas.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- A rapid assessment of take-home naloxone provision during COVID-19 in Europe.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- COVID-19 vaccination and drug users: Past, present, and future.Journal of public health research · 2022Article
- Economic Challenges and Behavioral and Mental Health Risks for Overdose during the COVID-19 Pandemic among People Who Inject Drugs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsPeople who inject drugs may be particularly vulnerable to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) due to underlying health problems, stigma and social vulnerabilities. Harm reduction services, including needle exchange programs (NEP), have been subjected to varying degrees of disruption in the world, especially in the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Compared to responses in other countries, Sweden's initial strategy toward limiting the spread and impact of COVID-19 was less restrictive to its citizens with no imposed general societal lockdown. In this study, we investigate changes in drug use patterns, utilization of NEP associated health services, COVID-19 health literacy and the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among NEP clients in Stockholm during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsNEP visits and services provided (needles/syringes, HIV and hepatitis C tests and treatment, naloxone distributed) and overall mortality among NEP clients between January 1 and October 31, 2020, were used for trend analyses in comparison with corresponding 2019 data. Between July 27 and October 2, 2020, NEP clients (n = 232) responded to a 27 item COVID-19 Health Literacy Questionnaire. SARS CoV-2 IgG antibody tests (n = 779) were performed between June 15 and October 31, 2020.
resultsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic number of clients, client visits, naloxone distribution and HCV tests remained stable compared to 2019, while distribution of needles/syringes increased (p < 0.0001); number of HIV tests and HCV treatments decreased (p < 0.05); and mortality decreased (< 0.01). Overall, the level of health literacy concerning transmission routes and protective measures was high. SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence was 5.4% (95% CI 4.0-7.2).
conclusionsThe Stockholm NEP managed to maintain a high level of clients and services during the pandemic. In general, COVID-19 health literacy was adequate and the overall SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence was low compared to the general population, which highlights a need for prioritized and targeted COVID-19 vaccination among PWID.
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