Graduate Annual

Article Title

Out of the Alley: Lessons from Safe Injecting Facilities (SIF)

Authors

David Monico, La Salle UniversityFollow

Abstract

intervention. Heroin and cocaine, two commonly injected drugs, highly contribute to overdose death. Overdose is now the number one cause of unintentional death in the United States. Those who inject drugs are also at risk of infectious diseases such as HIV and HCV. Current methods to reduce the harms associated with injecting drug use are not meeting the needs of injecting drug users (IDUs). In many parts of the world, injecting drug use is tolerated and permitted at supervised facilities where medical staff are available as needed.

To determine if such facilities are possible in the United States this literature review of research related to safe injecting facilities (SIF) was conducted. The databases PsychInfo and CINAHL Complete were utilized in this review. Thirty-two articles were considered, and five were excluded. Twenty-seven comprised the final literature review. It is clear that SIF will be utilized by IDUs. These facilities will serve to reduce risk of overdose, reduce disease transmission, increase treatment access, and provide a valuable service to the neighboring community. Further research and education are needed to gain public support for these lifesaving community interventions in the United States.

Recommended Citation

Monico, David (2015) "Out of the Alley: Lessons from Safe Injecting Facilities (SIF)," Graduate Annual: Vol. 3 , Article 12.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/graduateannual/vol3/iss1/12