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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

IDU Perspectives on the Design and Operation of North America's First Medically Supervised Injection Facility

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Pages 561-568 | Published online: 27 Sep 2010
 

Abstract

While the public health benefits of supervised injection facilities (SIFs) have been well documented, there is a lack of research examining the views of injection drug users (IDU) regarding the operation of these facilities. This study used 50 semistructured qualitative interviews to explore IDU perspectives on the design and operation of an SIF in Vancouver, Canada. Although the environment and operation of the SIF are well accepted, long wait times and limited operating hours, as well as regulations that prohibit sharing drugs and assisted injections, pose barriers to using the SIF. Modifying operating procedures and expanding the capacity of the current facility could address these barriers.

RÉSUMÉ

Bien que les avantages des centres d’injection supervisés (CIS) sur le plan de la santé publique soient bien documentés, il y a un manque de recherche sur les opinions des utilisateurs de drogues injectables (UDI) concernant le fonctionnement de ces centres. Dans le cadre de cette étude, les chercheurs ont réalisé 50 entrevues qualitatives semi-structurées afin d’explorer les points de vue des UDI sur la conception et l’exploitation d’un CIS à Vancouver, au Canada. Bien que le milieu et le fonctionnement du centre reçoivent de bonnes notes de la part des clients, les longs temps d’attente et les heures d’ouverture restreintes, ainsi que les règlements interdisant le partage de drogues et les injections assistées, constituent des obstacles à l’utilisation du CIS. La modification des procédures d’exploitation et l’expansion de la capacité actuelle du centre pourraient éliminer ces obstacles.

RESUMEN

Si bien las ventajas que ofrecen los centros de inyección supervisados (CIS) en cuanto a salud pública están bien documentadas, no se han investigado las opiniones de los usuarios de drogas inyectables (UDI) sobre la operación de estos centros. En este estudio, los investigadores realizaron 50 entrevistas cualitativas semi-estructuradas para explorar los puntos de vista de los UDI sobre el diseño y la operación de un CIS en Vancouver, Canadá. A pesar de que la clientela se muestra a gusto con el ambiente y el funcionamiento del centro, las largas esperas, el horario limitado, al igual que los reglamentos que prohiben compartir drogas y recibir asistencia para las inyecciones, constituyen obstáculos para el uso del CIS. La modificación de las reglas de uso y la expansión de la capacidad actual del centro podrían eliminar estos obstáculos.

THE AUTHORS

Will Small, Ph.D., is a qualitative and ethnographic researcher who conducts fieldwork examining the health of IDU in Vancouver's DTES. He is the Qualitative Research Program Coordinator within the Urban Health Research Initiative (UHRI) at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS. Will has recently begun his postdoctoral training, which is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

Liz Ainsworth, M.Sc., currently works for Alcohol Concern, the national agency for alcohol abuse in England. Her current professional interest is the role of mutual aid meetings in helping people to recover from substance use. Her past research interests include supervised injection facilities and the reproductive health of substance users. Liz obtained her M.Sc. from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Evan Wood, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of UHRI, a Research Scientist at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (Division of AIDS). He has extensive research experience in the area of clinical epidemiology, especially in evaluating the treatment of HIV/AIDS, addiction, and epidemiologic study design, especially among injection-drug-using populations. Dr. Wood has published more than 260 scientific papers and has received national recognition of his work. He was selected for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Ron Ghitter Award as the nation's top New Investigator applicant in Citation2003, and in 2007 he was the recipient of a leadership award from the Canadian Medical Association. Dr. Wood's current research focuses on the prevention and treatment of HIV infection among IDU.

Thomas Kerr, Ph.D., is Director of UHRI, a Senior Scientist at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (Division of AIDS). Dr. Kerr has extensive research experience in the areas of health psychology, behavioral science, community-based research, and public health, especially in evaluating programs and treatments designed to address addiction, injection drug use, and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Kerr has a long history of involvement in health care issues in Vancouver's DTES and has consistently emphasized the need for community involvement in research. Dr. Kerr applies both quantitative and qualitative methods in his research and has undertaken extensive research on HIV prevention strategies for IDU. He has published more than 195 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has received numerous local and national awards for his contributions to public health, human rights, and the fight against HIV/AIDS. Most recently, Dr. Kerr received the National Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for his efforts to promote scientific discussion on the topic of illicit drug policy.

Notes

1 Interviewer 1 was an Anglo-Canadian male, aged 32 years, who holds an M.A. in anthropology. Interviewer 2 was an Anglo-Canadian female, aged 24 years, who holds a B.Sc. in psychology. Interviewer 3 was an Anglo-Canadian male, aged 39 years, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology.

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