ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2022
Harm reduction in the hospital: An overdose prevention site (OPS) at a Canadian hospital.
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 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Perspectives of people who use drugs on implementing overdose response technologies in acute care settings: a qualitative study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 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
- Harm Reduction in Inpatient Hospital Settings: An Ethics (Principlist) Analysis.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2025Article
- "Every Time I Go in There, It Gives Me Time to Reflect": A Qualitative Study of Patient Perspectives on Substance Use, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, and Harm Reduction Following Hospitalization for Serious Injection-Related Infection.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Perspectives of healthcare workers on the integration of overdose detection technologies in acute care settings.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Article
- Perspectives of patients who inject drugs on a needle and syringe program at a large acute care hospital.PloS one · 2024Article
- Implementing harm reduction kits in an office-based addiction treatment program.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Perceived need for care and stigma experiences among individuals with methamphetamine-related admissions to inpatient mental health wards.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- "I wouldn't need Narcan for myself, but I can have it for somebody else:" perceptions of harm reduction among hospitalized patients with OUD.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2023Article
- People with lived and living experience of methamphetamine use and admission to hospital: what harm reduction do they suggest needs to be addressed?Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2023Article
- The need for sharps boxes to be offered in the hospital setting for people who use substances: Removing sharps boxes puts all of us at risk.Frontiers in health services · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSubstance use management in hospitals can be challenging. In response, a Canadian hospital opened an overdose prevention site (OPS) where community members and hospital inpatients can inject pre-obtained illicit drugs under supervision. This study aims to: (1) describe program utilization patterns; (2) characterize OPS visits; and (3) evaluate overdose events and related outcomes.
methodsA retrospective chart review was completed at one hospital in Vancouver, Canada. All community members and hospital inpatients who visited the OPS between May 2018 and July 2019 were included. Client measures included: hospital inpatient status, use of intravenous access line for drug injection, and substances used. Program measures included: number of visits (daily/monthly), overdose (fatal/non-fatal) events and overdose-related outcomes.
resultsOverall, 11,673 OPS visits were recorded. Monthly visits increased from 306 to 1198 between May 2018 and July 2019 respectively. On average, 26 visits occurred daily. Among all visits, 20% reported being a hospital inpatient, and 5% reported using a hospital intravenous access line for drug injection. Opioids (56%) and stimulants (24%) were the most common substances used. Overall 39 overdose events occurred - 82% required naloxone reversal, 28% required transfer to the hospital's emergency department and none were fatal. Overdose events were more common among hospital inpatients compared to community clients (6.6 vs 2.2 per 1000 visits respectively; p value = 0.046).
conclusionsThis unique OPS is an example of a hospital-based harm reduction initiative. Use of the site increased over time among both groups with no fatal overdose events occurring.
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