Identifying the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on service access for people who use drugs (PWUD): A national qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Closures and reductions in capacity of select health and social services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may have placed people who use drugs (PWUD) at a disproportionately increased risk for experiencing harms, and resulted in critical treatment disruptions. We conducted the current national study among a cohort of PWUD to understand how COVID-19 has affected service access, including any significant impacts PWUD may have experienced. Results will contribute to the evidence base for informing future pandemic and public health policy planning for vulnerable populations.

Methods

The project involved qualitative telephone-based interviews with 196 adult (aged 18+) PWUD from across Canada. Eligibility criteria included daily or weekly use of psychoactive subst

SUBMITTER: Russell C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9757985 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature