| Abstract |
Injection drug use (IDU) continues to be a primary method for HIV transmission through the use of contaminated needles, syringes, and other injecting equipment. Increased access to sterile syringes among IDUs has been correlated with reduced syringe sharing. Many states, including Rhode Island, have legalized the over the counter (OTC) sale of syringes in pharmacies. In the era of OTC sale of syringes, pharmacies are often the first point of contact for many IDUs. Many studies have suggested that training pharmacists to provide HIV-related services to IDUs may be an important opportunity to engage IDUs and provide them with such services. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to assess the level of contact that pharmacy staff have with IDU customers, their overall experiences with this contact, and their willingness to engage IDUs on issues related to drug use and HIV prevention.
This study will recruit pharmacists and pharmacy staff from the 36 previously identified greater Providence area (Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, North Providence and East Providence) pharmacies which sell OTC syringes. Participants will be given a survey consisting of demographic information and a mix of open and closed ended questions. These questions will assess participant views about the current syringe laws in Rhode Island, willingness to provide HIV-related services, including referral for HIV testing, substance use treatment and medical and social services, to IDUs and past experiences with IDU customers. In addition, we will collect data on the total number of syringes that each pharmacy has sold during the past year. We will also collect data on the total number of customers who have purchases syringes during this time.
Three individuals from each pharmacy, one pharmacist and two pharmacy staff, will be enrolled from each pharmacy for a total sample size of 108. Pharmacy staff participants will be compared with respect to demographic variables and responses to survey questions. The total number of clients will be divided by total number of syringes to obtain an estimate of number of syringes purchased per client. This study will provide important data which will inform multi-site linked R21 NIDA proposal to assess the feasibility of using pharmacies as public health venues to provide HIV-related services to injection drug users.
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