Experiences of people who use drugs with naloxone administration: a qualitative study

Abstract

The United States is in the midst of an epidemic of opioid-related overdose deaths. In response, harm reduction programs commonly distribute the opioid antagonist naloxone directly to PWUD so that they can act as first responders when an overdose occurs. Naloxone reverses respiratory depression and can save the life of a person overdosing on opioids. Little research has been conducted about the lived experiences of PWUD who use naloxone, particularly their motivations for carrying it, their experiences serving as first responders to overdoses, and how new communities of care have sprung up around the widespread use of naloxone. To better understand the lived experiences of PWUD, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen syringe exchange participants who currently carry and/or have administered naloxone. In interviews, participants describe taking on the role of peer naloxone administrator as empowering, partially because it contrasts with the powerlessness they recounted in other areas of their lives. Peer administrators also use naloxone in a way that reinforces overdose care among people who use drugs. Future programs distributing naloxone to PWUD should be aware of its potential not only to save lives, but to increase participants’ self-confidence and strengthen the network of overdose care in their communities.

Keywords:

• Naloxone
• PWUD
• PWID
• overdose care
• harm reduction
• overdose narratives

Acknowledgements

we would like to thank HIV Alliance for the initial volunteer opportunity for ER and for hosting the research described in this article.

This article was based on research conducted by ER for an undergraduate honors thesis in the Clark Honors College, University of Oregon while MG was her thesis advisor. All research was carried out by ER. The drafting and revision of the article was conducted jointly by ER and MG.

Disclosure statement

ER is currently employed by the HIV Alliance, and carried out the research on which this article was based while serving as a volunteer for their syringe exchange program. HIV Alliance had no influence on the design, analysis or interpretation of the results.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this study was provided to ER through grants from the University of Oregon’s Clark Honors College and VPRI Summer Grant. Writing and editing was partially funded by MG’s NSF CAREER award (# 1844715).