Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35836189›Full record

ArticleHarm reduction journal2022

The changing landscape of pharmaceutical alternatives to the unregulated drug supply during COVID-19.

Karen McCrae, Stephanie Glegg, Marie-Éve Goyer, Bernard Le Foll, Rupi Brar, Christy Sutherland, Nadia Fairbairn

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

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 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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  5. Depoliticization of Violence: Critical Limits of Risk Environment Frameworks in Drug Use Research.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Karen McCraeBritish Columbia Centre On Substance Use, 400-1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2A9, Canada.
Stephanie GleggBritish Columbia Centre On Substance Use, 400-1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2A9, Canada.
Marie-Éve GoyerFamily Medicine and Emergency Department, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Bernard Le FollTranslational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, ON, M5S2S1, Canada.
Rupi BrarDepartment of Family Medicine, University of British Columbia, 5950 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2A1, Canada.
Christy SutherlandPHS Community Services, 9 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1M9, Canada.
Nadia FairbairnBritish Columbia Centre On Substance Use, 400-1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2A9, Canada. bccsu-nf@bccsu.ubc.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-4195-3284
British Columbia Centre on Substance Use · CAUniversity of British Columbia · CACentre for Addiction and Mental Health · CAUniversité de Montréal · CAVancouver Coastal Health · CA

Funding

CIHR
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe dual COVID-19 and overdose emergencies amplified strain on healthcare systems tasked with responding to both. One downstream consequence of the pandemic in the USA and Canada was a surge in drug overdoses resulting from public health-restricted access to services and an increasingly toxic unregulated drug supply. This study aimed to describe changes implemented by programs prescribing pharmaceutical alternatives to the drug supply during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

methodsAn environmental scan used surveys and qualitative interviews with service providers across Canada to examine pharmaceutical alternative prescribing practices and programs before and during the pandemic. This study summarized the nature, frequency, and reasons for pandemic-driven service delivery changes using directed content analysis, counts, and thematic analysis.

resultsEighty-two of the 103 participating sites reported 1193 unique changes in physical space (368), client protocols (347), program operations (342), ancillary services (127), and staffing (90). Four qualitative themes describing the reasons for these changes emerged, namely (1) decreasing risk of COVID-19 infection; (2) decreasing risk of overdose; (3) prioritizing acute care of COVID-19 patients; and (4) improving client access to treatment.

conclusionsWhile most changes were aimed at decreasing risk of COVID-19 infection, some were found to be at odds with the measures needed to combat the overdose crisis; others met dual objectives of decreased risk of both overdose and infection. Further research should examine which changes should be kept or reversed once COVID-19-related public health measures are lifted.

Indexed as

COVID-19Drug OverdoseDelivery of Health CareHumansPandemicsPharmaceutical PreparationsPharmaceutical PreparationsCanadaCOVID-19 pandemicHarm reductionInjectable opioid agonist treatmentSafe supplySubstance use

Identifiers

PMID35836189
PMCPMC9281344
OpenAlexW4285494423

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.