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अमूर्त

Characteristics and Drug Use Patterns among Harm Reduction Program Participants in NYS, Before and During COVID-19

Kitty H. Gelberg, Rakkoo Chung, Shea Kelly, Shu-Yin John Leung, Rebecca Goldberg

Background: The type of drugs being used and in combination with other drugs varies by location raising the question of which drugs are being used in New York State outside of New York City. In order to review the impact of COVID-19 and how this pandemic shifted the patterns of drugs used, this study examined drug use pre- and during COVID.

Methods: Data were collected from a parent study evaluating the effectiveness of harm reduction programs for people who use opioids. Individuals who used opioids in the prior three months participated in a survey which collected information on events occurring in the prior three months.

Results: Overdose history and overdose preventive practices were similar pre- and during-COVID except those recruited during COVID were more likely to have naloxone available. The primary opioid used was heroin (85%) followed by fentanyl (33%). Over 79% of the opioid users in the study used some type of stimulant with a higher percent of participants using methamphetamine pre-COVID. Eighty percent of the participants used at least three of the 14 non-prescription drug types asked about and 31% used at least six different substances.

Conclusion: This study did not find an effect on drug use during COVID-19. The majority of participants stated use of heroin but not fentanyl, although national data shows high prevalence of fentanyl in the drug supply. Efforts should focus on increasing awareness of fentanyl in the drug supply. Overall, more effort should be directed in identifying local patterns of drug use.