Introducing Public Health Vending Machines in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Study Using a Community-Based Participatory Approach.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Drug-related overdoses impact communities all over the United States. In the past 2 decades, over 28,000 people have died of a drug overdose in North Carolina (NC). Research has shown that there has been an increase in overdose deaths throughout NC, particularly in rural areas. To reduce overdose rates, health care interventions should be expanded. Naloxone distribution is one intervention to combat overdose rates. Naloxone is a medication designed to reverse an opioid overdose rapidly. Public health vending machines (PHVMs) are a strategy recently implemented in some US communities to expand access to harm reduction supplies. Examples of locations where PHVMs have been installed include public health departments, libraries, county detention centers, and law enforcement

SUBMITTER: Guter M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12489422 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature