ArticleHarm reduction journal2022
A qualitative study on pharmacy policies toward over-the-counter syringe sales in a rural epicenter of US drug-related epidemics.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of pharmacists and pharmacy team members in the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of outbreaks - a global rapid systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Implementation of an academic detailing intervention to increase naloxone distribution and foster engagement in harm reduction from the community clinician.Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhATrial
- "All it's gonna tell you is if it has fentanyl or not:" Perceptions of fentanyl and drug checking among first responders and people who use drugs.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- Sterile syringe availability in Georgia pharmacies remained rare, despite policy change permitting sales.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Lessons Learned Implementing Syringe Services Programs at Rural Health Departments in Kentucky.AIDS and behavior · 2024Article
- Article
- Community pharmacists' attitudes toward and practice of pharmacy-based harm reduction services in Pittsburgh, PA: a descriptive survey.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Factors Associated with HIV Testing Among People Who Inject Drugs: Findings from a Multistate Study at the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- Readiness of community pharmacies to implement an opioid safety intervention.Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhAArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExpanding access to sterile syringes in rural areas is vital, as injection-related epidemics expand beyond metropolitan areas globally. While pharmacies have potential to be an easily accessible source of sterile syringes, research in cities has identified moral, legal and ethical barriers that preclude over-the-counter (OTC) sales to people who inject drugs (PWID). The current study builds on prior urban-based research by elucidating (1) pharmacy OTC policies and (2) pharmacists' rationale for, and barriers and facilitators to, OTC syringe sales in a US rural area hard hit by drug-related epidemics.
methodsWe conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with pharmacists recruited from two Eastern Kentucky health districts. Interview domains included experiences with, and attitudes toward, selling OTC syringes to PWID. Constructivist grounded theory methods were used to analyze verbatim transcripts.
resultsMost pharmacists operated "restrictive OTC" pharmacies (n = 8), where patients were required to have a prescription or proof of medical need to purchase a syringe. The remainder (n = 6) operated "open OTC" pharmacies, which allowed OTC syringe sales to most patients. Both groups believed their pharmacy policies protected their community and pharmacy from further drug-related harm, but diverging policies emerged because of stigma toward PWID, perceptions of Kentucky law, and belief OTC syringe sales were harmful rather than protective to the community.
conclusionOur results suggest that restrictive OTC pharmacy policies are rooted in stigmatizing views of PWID. Anti-stigma education about substance use disorder (SUD), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Hepatitis C (HCV) is likely needed to truly shift restrictive pharmacy policy.
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Registered trials
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