Suzan M Walters1, David W Seal2, Thomas J Stopka3, Megan E Murphy4, Wiley D Jenkins5. 1. Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York, NY, United States. 2. Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States. 3. Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States. 4. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States. 5. Department of Population Science and Policy, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, United States.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: People who use drugs (PWUD) face increased risk of exposure to COVID-19, but also elevated risk associated from injection drug use. We describe factors underlying their increased risk and identify mechanisms for reducing or minimizing rates of COVID-19 transmission and other health outcomes. METHODS: Our commentary draws upon empirical data, governmental and other reports, and field-based unpublished data from our own studies to inform our conclusion and recommendations. RESULTS: Co-morbid health conditions (eg, diabetes), structural challenges (eg, homelessness, criminal justice involvement), stigma (eg, social devaluation, discrediting), and syndemic clustering of of overdose, HCV, and HIV among PWUD are exacerbated by COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Beyond the many challenges all people face to remain safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, PWUD face additional barriers to remaining safe not only from COVID-19 but from negative health outcomes associated with their living environments, socioeconomic positions, and injection drug use. Collaborative efforts among governmental agencies, health providers, SSPs, CBOs, and other agencies providing services to PWUD is essential to the development of programs and services to meet the many needs of PWUD, which have been particularly accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVE: People who use drugs (PWUD) face increased risk of exposure to COVID-19, but also elevated risk associated from injection drug use. We describe factors underlying their increased risk and identify mechanisms for reducing or minimizing rates of COVID-19 transmission and other health outcomes. METHODS: Our commentary draws upon empirical data, governmental and other reports, and field-based unpublished data from our own studies to inform our conclusion and recommendations. RESULTS: Co-morbid health conditions (eg, diabetes), structural challenges (eg, homelessness, criminal justice involvement), stigma (eg, social devaluation, discrediting), and syndemic clustering of of overdose, HCV, and HIV among PWUD are exacerbated by COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Beyond the many challenges all people face to remain safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, PWUD face additional barriers to remaining safe not only from COVID-19 but from negative health outcomes associated with their living environments, socioeconomic positions, and injection drug use. Collaborative efforts among governmental agencies, health providers, SSPs, CBOs, and other agencies providing services to PWUD is essential to the development of programs and services to meet the many needs of PWUD, which have been particularly accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Entities:
Keywords:
COVID-19; people who use drugs; prevention and treatment
Authors: Ashly E Jordan; David C Perlman; Charles M Cleland; Katarzyna Wyka; Bruce R Schackman; Denis Nash Journal: J Clin Virol Date: 2020-01-27 Impact factor: 3.168
Authors: Leonardo Setti; Fabrizio Passarini; Gianluigi De Gennaro; Pierluigi Barbieri; Maria Grazia Perrone; Massimo Borelli; Jolanda Palmisani; Alessia Di Gilio; Prisco Piscitelli; Alessandro Miani Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-04-23 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Esther J Aspinall; Dhanya Nambiar; David J Goldberg; Matthew Hickman; Amanda Weir; Eva Van Velzen; Norah Palmateer; Joseph S Doyle; Margaret E Hellard; Sharon J Hutchinson Journal: Int J Epidemiol Date: 2013-12-27 Impact factor: 7.196
Authors: Christopher M Jones; Joseph Logan; R Matthew Gladden; Michele K Bohm Journal: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Date: 2015-07-10 Impact factor: 17.586
Authors: Brooke G Rogers; Annaka Paradis-Burnett; Katherine Nagel; Annajane Yolken; Sabrina H Strong; Trisha Arnold; Siena C Napoleon; Michaela Maynard; Collette Sosnowy; Matthew Murphy; Colleen Daley Ndoye; Richard Holcomb; Anna Schierberl Scherr; Megan Pinkston; Philip A Chan Journal: Arch Sex Behav Date: 2021-03-23
Authors: Suzan M Walters; David Frank; Brent Van Ham; Jessica Jaiswal; Brandon Muncan; Valerie Earnshaw; John Schneider; Samuel R Friedman; Danielle C Ompad Journal: AIDS Behav Date: 2021-10-09
Authors: Rebecca S Bolinski; Suzan Walters; Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar; Lawrence J Ouellet; Wiley D Jenkins; Ellen Almirol; Brent Van Ham; Scott Fletcher; Christian Johnson; John A Schneider; Danielle Ompad; Mai T Pho Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-02-16 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Suzan M Walters; Joey Platt; Amarachi Anakaraonye; Sarit A Golub; Chinazo O Cunningham; Brianna L Norton; Jae M Sevelius; Oni J Blackstock Journal: AIDS Behav Date: 2021-06-17