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AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Mar 29, 2006
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AJPH.2004.057828v1
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May 2006, Vol 96, No. 5 | American Journal of Public Health 770-773
© 2006 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.057828

FIELD ACTION REPORT

Service Uptake and Characteristics of Injection Drug Users Utilizing North America’s First Medically Supervised Safer Injecting Facility

Evan Wood, PhD, Mark W. Tyndall, ScD, MD, Zhenguo Qui, PhD, Ruth Zhang, MSc, Julio S. G. Montaner, MD and Thomas Kerr, PhD

At the time of the study, all authors were with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia. Evan Wood, Mark W. Tyndall, Julio S. G. Montaner, and Thomas Kerr are also with the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Evan Wood, PhD, Division of Epidemiology and Population Health, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, 608-1081 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada (e-mail: ewood{at}cfenet.ubc.ca).

In 2003, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, opened North America’s first government-sanctioned safer injecting facility, where injection drug users (IDUs) can inject preobtained illicit drugs under the supervision of nurses. Use of the service by IDUs was followed by measurable reductions in public drug use and syringe sharing. IDUs who are frequently using the program tend to be high-intensity cocaine and heroin injectors and homeless individuals.

The facility has provided high-risk IDUs a hygienic space where syringe sharing can be eliminated and the risk of fatal overdose reduced. Ongoing evaluation will be required to assess its impact on overdose rates and HIV infection levels, as well as its ability to improve IDU contact with medical care and addiction treatment




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The Law (and Politics) of Safe Injection Facilities in the United States
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Summary of findings from the evaluation of a pilot medically supervised safer injecting facility.
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