ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2022
Examining the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 and associated control measures on interventions to prevent blood-borne viruses among people who inject drugs in Scotland: an interrupted time series study.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on methadone and buprenorphine prescriptions in England primary cares: an interrupted time series analysis.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- A novel, multi-component contingency management intervention in the context of a syndemic of drug-related harms in Glasgow, Scotland: First year of the 'WAND' initiative.Addictive behaviors reports · 2025Article
- Drug treatment and support service utilization amidst the COVID-19 pandemic among people who inject drugs in Baltimore, Maryland: An interrupted time-series analysis, 2015-2022.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Suicide in people prescribed opioid-agonist therapy in Scotland, United Kingdom, 2011-2020: A national retrospective cohort study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- Examining trends in the incidence of HIV infection among people with a history of drug use to inform an outbreak investigation and response: A retrospective cohort study.HIV medicine · 2025Article
- Testing and Treatment Interventions in Community Settings Key to Controlling a Recent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Outbreak Among People Who Inject Drugs in Glasgow: A Modeling Study.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on HIV Test Uptake Among People Who Inject Drugs in the Context of an HIV Outbreak.AIDS and behavior · 2024Article
- Structural and social changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on engagement in substance use disorder treatment services: a qualitative study among people with a recent history of injection drug use in Baltimore, Maryland.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Article
- Testing for Hepatitis B and C virus and HIV in mental healthcare settings in England between 2015-2021.PLOS mental health · 2024Article
- Impact of COVID-19 & Response Measures on HIV-HCV Prevention Services and Social Determinants in People Who Inject Drugs in 13 Sites with Recent HIV Outbreaks in Europe, North America and Israel.AIDS and behavior · 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
- Substance use disorders and COVID-19: reflections on international research and practice changes during the "poly-crisis".Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Changes in supervised consumption site use and emergency interventions in Montréal, Canada in the first twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic: An interrupted time series study.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
- The impact of COVID-19 on access to harm reduction, substance use treatment and recovery services in Scotland: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Challenges Faced and Coping Strategies Adopted by Injecting Drug Users during COVID-19 Lockdown-A Qualitative Study.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 has likely affected the delivery of interventions to prevent blood-borne viruses (BBVs) among people who inject drugs (PWID). We examined the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 in Scotland on: 1) needle and syringe provision (NSP), 2) opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and 3) BBV testing.
methodsAn interrupted time series study design; 23rd March 2020 (date of the first 'lockdown') was chosen as the key date.
resultsThe number of HIV tests and HCV tests in drug services/prisons, and the number of needles/syringes (N/S) distributed decreased by 94% (RR=0.062, 95% CI 0.041-0.094, p < 0.001), 95% (RR=0.049, 95% CI 0.034-0.069, p < 0.001) and 18% (RR = 0.816, 95% CI 0.750-0.887, p < 0.001), respectively, immediately after lockdown. Post-lockdown, an increasing trend was observed relating to the number of N/S distributed (0.6%; RR = 1.006, 95% CI 1.001-1.012, p = 0.015), HIV tests (12.1%; RR = 1.121, 95% CI 1.092-1.152, p < 0.001) and HCV tests (13.2%; RR = 1.132, 95 CI 1.106-1.158, p < 0.001). Trends relating to the total amount of methadone prescribed remained stable, but a decreasing trend in the number of prescriptions (2.4%; RR = 0.976, 95% CI 0.959-0.993, p = 0.006) and an increasing trend in the quantity prescribed per prescription (2.8%; RR = 1.028, 95% CI 1.013-1.042, p < 0.001) was observed post-lockdown.
conclusionsCOVID-19 impacted the delivery of BBV prevention services for PWID in Scotland. While there is evidence of service recovery; further effort is likely required to return some intervention coverage to pre-pandemic levels in the context of subsequent waves of COVID-19.
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