Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40578796›Full record

ArticleJournal of substance use and addiction treatment2025

"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.

Brenda Y Goh, Emily C Williams, Courteney Wettemann, Callan E Fockele, Tessa Frohe, Grover Williams, Nathan Holland, Rachel E Rourke, Robert Pitcher, Thea Oliphant-Wells and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of substance use and addiction treatment, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

11 authors.

Brenda Y GohDepartment of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Box 357262, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: byhgoh@uw.edu.
Emily C WilliamsDepartment of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Health Care System, 1660 South Columbian Way, Mailstop S-152, Seattle, WA 98108-1532, USA. Electronic address: emwilli@uw.edu.
Courteney WettemannDepartment of Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Box 357262, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Research with Expert Advisors on Drug Use (READU), University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: chw26@uw.edu.
Callan E FockeleDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Washington, 325 Ninth Avenue, Box 359702, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA. Electronic address: cfockele@uw.edu.
Tessa FroheDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Box 356560, Seattle, WA 98195-6560, USA. Electronic address: frohe06@uw.edu.
Grover WilliamsResearch with Expert Advisors on Drug Use (READU), University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: ohfallen@hotmail.com.
Nathan HollandResearch with Expert Advisors on Drug Use (READU), University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: qwietswork@outlook.com.
Rachel E RourkeResearch with Expert Advisors on Drug Use (READU), University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: rachelrourke18@gmail.com.
Robert PitcherResearch with Expert Advisors on Drug Use (READU), University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: nvrsubtle1@gmail.com.
Thea Oliphant-WellsPublic Health-Seattle & King County, 401 5th Ave Ste 1000, Seattle, WA 98104, USA. Electronic address: Thea.Oliphant-Wells@kingcounty.gov.
Jenna van DraanenDepartment of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Avenue Northeast, Fourth Floor, Box 351621, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Box 357262, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: jvandraa@uw.edu.

Funding

eHaRT-A: Adapting an evidence-based, in-person harm reduction treatment into a virtual care telehealth intervention for people with lived experience of homelessness and alcohol use disorderK01AA030053 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Tessa Marie Frohe · 2022 to 2026
$861k
NIAAA NIH HHS K01 AA030053
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionFentanyl contamination in the unregulated drug supply contributes to high rates of opioid overdose among people who use drugs (PWUD). Drug checking is a harm reduction strategy that provides PWUD with information about the contents of their substances. Although drug checking has broad utility, this study focused specifically on drug checking to test for fentanyl, with a particular emphasis on fentanyl test strips (FTS) and point-of-care testing at community service organizations. This study assessed first responders and PWUDs' perceptions of fentanyl, drug checking, and associated implementation suggestions.

methodsThe risk environment framework and community-engaged methods guided the study. First responders and PWUD were recruited using convenience sampling from first responder agencies and community service locations, respectively, in King County, WA. The study conducted semi-structured interviews with first responders (n = 32; law enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency medical services, firefighters, etc.) and PWUD (n = 13) until data saturation. A group of academically trained and peer-based researchers with lived experiences of substance use analyzed the data using a thematic analysis approach.

resultsFirst responders and PWUD discussed the fentanyl-saturated drug use landscape and the amplification of PWUDs' overdose risk. Preferences for fentanyl among PWUD varied, ranging from a preference for it, to willingness to use it, to strong aversion. Most first responders expressed concerns about post-overdose FTS distribution, viewing it as ineffective in promoting safer use behaviors and inconsistent with their workflow and provider role. People who use fentanyl perceived drug checking to be of low relevance due to fentanyl's ubiquity, while PWUD who were trying to avoid it cited numerous barriers, including low availability, trust in sellers, limitations of FTS, and lack of information or connections.

conclusionsThe study found low support for drug checking for fentanyl and first responders' distribution of FTS. Drug checking may have the most utility for PWUD who were trying to avoid fentanyl; however, its potential benefits may not be fully realized until structural barriers to access and use are addressed. Caution should be exercised to not promote drug checking as a universal tool and place the onus of addressing fentanyl contamination on PWUD.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidDrug ContaminationDrug UsersEmergency RespondersFentanylSubstance Abuse DetectionAdultDrug OverdoseFemaleHarm ReductionHumansMaleMiddle AgedOpioid-Related DisordersPoint-of-Care TestingAnalgesics, OpioidFentanylDrug checkingFentanylFentanyl test stripsFirst respondersHarm reductionPeople who use drugs

Identifiers

PMID40578796
PMCPMC12369595

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.