ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Substance Use Stigma and Community Drug Checking: A Qualitative Study Examining Barriers and Possible Responses.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring practices to enhance benefits and reduce risks of chemsex among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: A meta-ethnography.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Pooled it
- Interpol review of forensic drug chemistry, 2022-2025.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- Article
- Perceived HIV-related stigma: disparities between an Infectious Diseases Unit and other hospital departments.AIDS research and therapy · 2025Article
- Substance use, stigma, and coping in treatment: A qualitative study of participant perspectives.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- Understanding the association between medical mistrust, opioid knowledge, and stigma towards adults with a history of an opioid use disorder.Journal of substance use · 2025Article
- Motivational interviewing to increase drug checking and reduce overdose rates among people who use drugs: protocol for a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial of an adjunctive intervention.BMC public health · 2025Article
- "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
- "We're Not Gonna Aid You in Shooting Up": Stigma's Relationship to Harm Reduction in People Who Inject Drugs.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- 'It'd Be Nice to Know if You're About to Have Drain Cleaner': A Qualitative Study of Preferred Drug Checking Service Features to Inform the Design of CheQpoint, Queensland's First Fixed-Site Drug Checking Service.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- Characterizing changes to harm reduction site operations in British Columbia following the implementation of the decriminalization of drugs: Findings from a provincial survey.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Care management staff perspectives on stigma and barriers to substance use treatment experienced by latine adults who use substances.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- The public health risks of counterfeit pills.The Lancet. Public health · 2025Article
- An implementation science study of a campus-based drug checking service at a Canadian university.PloS one · 2025Article
- The use and operationalization of "structural stigma" in health-related research: A scoping review.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Examining naloxone access and interest in secondary naloxone distribution on an American Indian Reservation in the Northern Midwest of the United States.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- High-dose naloxone formulations are not as essential as we thought.Harm reduction journal · 2024Review
- Harm reduction behaviours and harm experiences of people who use 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in Aotearoa New Zealand.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Beyond a spec: assessing heterogeneity in the unregulated opioid supply.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Planning and implementing community-based drug checking services in Scotland: a qualitative exploration using the consolidated framework for implementation research.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCommunity drug checking is an emerging response to the overdose crisis. However, stigma has been identified as a potential barrier to service use that requires investigation.
methodsA qualitative study explored how best to implement drug checking services to the wider population including those at risk of overdose. A secondary analysis of 26 interviews with potential service users examine how stigma may be a barrier to service use and strategies to address this. A Substance Use Stigma Framework was developed to guide analysis.
resultsDrug checking is operating in a context of structural stigma produced by criminalization. People fear criminal repercussions, anticipate stigma when accessing services, and internalize stigma resulting in shame and avoidance of services. A perceived hierarchy of substance use creates stigma results in stigma between service users and avoidance of sites associated with certain drugs. Participants frequently recommended drug checking to be located in more public spaces that still maintain privacy.
conclusionsCriminalization and societal views on substance use can deter service use. Strategies to mitigate stigma include employment of people with lived and living experience from diverse backgrounds; public yet private locations that preserve anonymity; and normalization of drug checking while decriminalization could address the root causes of stigma.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.