Overdose - International Harm Reduction Association

by category Alcohol Harm Reduction HIV Prevention and Care for IDUs Overdose Policing Harm Reduction (Illicit Drugs) Tobacco Harm Reduction       by sub-category 01. Meaning of harm reduction in the context of HIV prevention for IDU 01. Overviews 01. Overviews 01. Overviews of Alcohol Harm Reduction 01. Overviews of harm reduction 02. Alcohol Consumption - Recorded and Unrecorded 02. Epidemiology of IDU and related HIV infection 02. Nicotine policy 02. Strategies and Policies 02: Guides and Policies 03. HIV/AIDS prevention policy and programming 03. National and International Policies 03. Needle Exchanges 03. Regulation of nicotine replacement therapies 03: Epidemiological Research 04. Assessing local and national need for interventions 04. Crackdowns and Enforcement 04. Local Policies and Strategies 04. The health risks of smokeless tobacco and its role in a harm reduction strategy 04: Risk Factors and Risk Environments 05. Managing Public Space 05. Police Conduct & Human Rights 05. Regulation of cigarettes 05. Resource allocation/requirements 05: Naloxone Research 06. Advocacy 06. IDU risk behaviour 06. Interventions for High-Risk Groups 06. The failure of light cigarettes 06: Naloxone Programmes 07. Cigarette reduction 07. Drinking and Driving 07. Sexual risk behaviour 07: Other Prevention Research and Interventions 08. Changing Drinking Environments 08. Needle and Syringe Programs 08. PREPS and other tobacco use 09. Glassware in Bars 09. Substitution treatments 09. The role of the tobacco industry and funding 10. Antiretroviral (ARV) treatment 10. Communication and perceptions of relative risk 10. Server Training 11. Harm Reduction Treatments 11. Health promotion and drug education 12. Alcohol and HIV 12. Outreach and peer education 13. Marginalised groups 13. The Alcohol Industry: Partnership, Codes and Conduct 14. Non-IDU drug use risk 15. Drug user organisations 16. Advocacy 17. Human Rights 18. UN position statements and papers on HIV and IDU Additional Papers

Introduction

Selection Process

If You Only Read One Paper...

Acknowledgements

Sub- Categories

Introduction

This collection brings together documents that provide the best information on overdose and overdose prevention. This is the latest in a series of 50 Best Collections commissioned or created by IHRA as part of our work to promote harm reduction on a global basis. Overdose is a risk when using many psychoactive drugs – but is much more common for some drugs (such as opioids) than others (such as cannabis and nicotine). It is especially common for people who use combinations of substances, and those who inject drugs. This collection focuses predominantly on illicit drug use, as this is the area in which overdose prevention efforts have concentrated. In many ways, overdose prevention is a quintessential harm reduction approach. Research indicates that overdose is a familiar issue for people who inject drugs, with many studies finding high levels of self-reported non-fatal overdoses or witnessed overdoses. Crucially, overdose is a fundamentally preventable harm. For opioid overdoses in particular, a ‘cure’ exists in ‘Naloxone’ – yet this is a shamefully underused intervention around the world given its potential to save lives. This collection provides information and best practice on a range of overdose topics – including those that provide overviews of the issues, studies focusing on the epidemiology and prevalence of overdose, studies that identify various risk factors for overdose, naloxone research, best practice for naloxone distribution, and reports on other interventions. It is intended for a broad range of audiences - including policy makers, practitioners, communities and researchers around the world. The collection is periodically reviewed, so please contact IHRA with any feedback or suggestions.

This collection was launched on August 31st 2009 – International Overdose Awareness Day. Since 2000, the purpose of this day has been to build awareness about overdose, and to remember friends, peers, family members and colleagues who have died or are suffering from a permanent injury due to an overdose, and to help spread the message that there is still much work to be done to prevent this harm. Please visit the Australian Salvation Army website for more information.

Selection Process

An extensive literature search was undertaken during 2008 and 2009, and papers were located from a wide range of sources including online databases (such as PubMed), internet searches, websites, and IHRA’s contacts and partners. For example, the Overdose List of Resources compiled by the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) was a particularly useful resource. An International Reference Panel of experts in this field reviewed the collection and ensured that the documents were of a sufficiently high standard and represented the ‘best’ papers from around the world. Efforts were made to achieve a balance of scientific research papers, expert commentaries, policy documents and practical guidelines. Papers were preferred if they were recent, brief, readable, accredited by an international or national organisation, published as a paper in a high-impact factor journal, and/or scientifically rigorous. This was not an attempt to compile a scientific evidence base, but rather one to create a useful advocacy tool and an introduction to this important topic.

“If You Only Read One Paper…”

Overdosing on Opiates: Part 1 – Causes and Overdosing on Opiates: Part 2 – Prevention This two-part thematic review by David Best and colleagues in ‘Drug and Alcohol Findings’ (2001) consolidates existing knowledge on the causes and epidemiology of opiate overdoses, and on the effective methods for preventing opiate overdoses. The review draws on research and experiences from around the world and explores various interventions that have been implemented – including naloxone distribution, peer education, extending maintenance therapy, and prison through-care.

Acknowledgements

This collection was put together by Catherine Cook (IHRA’s Research Analyst) with support from Jamie Bridge and Annie Kuch. Particular thanks go to the International Reference Panel for their comments and feedback – Luciano Colonna, Jason Farrell, Mukta Sharma, Sharon Stancliff and Gerry Stimson. IHRA would also like to acknowledge the work of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) for organising a meeting in Vilnius in 2008 which inspired the development of this collection. This collection was funded through a broader operating grant from the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Sub-Categories

To make these documents easier to navigate and locate, this collection has been divided into a number of sub-categories which each define a certain area of research or interest.

Click here to view Sub-Categories