Our researchers found that people who inject drugs support the use of detachable low dead space syringes. Evidence suggests that low dead space syringes with detachable needles could reduce the chance of spreading infections among people who inject drugs, if syringes are re-used or shared. However, it was not known whether people who inject drugs would be willing to switch.
Working with the Bristol Drugs Project and Developing Health and Independence in Bath, the research team interviewed 23 people who inject drugs, and 13 volunteers and professionals who work with them. The BITE summarises the research and gives advice for needle exchanges on how to implement the change of equipment.
CLAHRC BITEs, which stands for Brokering Innovation Through Evidence, are short summaries, which aim to break down CLAHRC research into accessible, bite-sized pieces. These summaries highlight the main findings and implications of our research for practice, providing links and references for more in-depth information and further reading.