Understanding disparities in access to naloxone among people who inject drugs in Southeast Michigan using respondent driven sampling.

BACKGROUND: Given the rising incidence of opioid overdose in the United States, naloxone access is critical for high-risk populations, such as persons who inject drugs (PWID). Yet not all PWID have access to this life-saving antidote. With PWID in Michigan recruited via respondent driven sampling in 2017, after the 2016 standing order expanding naloxone availability through local pharmacies, we explored possible access disparities. METHODS: With 46 seeds recruited from agencies serving local PWID communities, we obtained a sample of N = 410 PWID from Southeast Michigan (n = 285 form urban Detroit, and 125 for suburban/rural areas outside Detroit). Participants completed questionnaires detailing socio-demographics, health history, substance use and treatment access, including naloxone. We used multiple logistic regression to examine the predictors of self-reported naloxone access based on participant characteristics (e.g., demographics, health status) and geography (urban vs. suburban/rural). RESULTS: Self-reported naloxone access differed significantly by location (urban = 18.3 %; suburban/rural = 41.9 %). In multivariable analyses, naloxone access was significantly associated with race, household income, employment, health insurance, recent homelessness, prescription opioid usage, Hepatitis A and C status, Hepatitis A vaccination, Hepatitis C testing, access to drug treatment and services, and hospital as the usual place of care. CONCLUSION: Despite recent policies to expand access, our results indicate that naloxone access among high-risk PWID is low. This warrants future research to identify effective channels to reduce barriers and increase naloxone access.

Retention on buprenorphine is associated with high levels of maximal viral suppression among HIV-infected opioid dependent released prisoners.

INTRODUCTION: HIV-infected prisoners lose viral suppression within the 12 weeks after release to the community. This prospective study evaluates the use of buprenorphine/naloxone (BPN/NLX) as a method to reduce relapse to opioid use and sustain viral suppression among released HIV-infected prisoners meeting criteria for opioid dependence (OD). METHODS: From 2005-2010, 94 subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for OD were recruited from a 24-week prospective trial of directly administered antiretroviral therapy (DAART) for released HIV-infected prisoners; 50 (53%) selected BPN/NLX and were eligible to receive it for 6 months; the remaining 44 (47%) selected no BPN/NLX therapy. Maximum viral suppression (MVS), defined as HIV-1 RNA<50 copies/mL, was compared for the BPN/NLX and non-BPN/NLX (N = 44) groups. RESULTS: The two groups were similar, except the BPN/NLX group was significantly more likely to be Hispanic (56.0% v 20.4%), from Hartford (74.4% v 47.7%) and have higher mean global health quality of life indicator scores (54.18 v 51.40). MVS after 24 weeks of being released was statistically correlated with 24-week retention on BPN/NLX [AOR = 5.37 (1.15, 25.1)], having MVS at the time of prison-release [AOR = 10.5 (3.21, 34.1)] and negatively with being Black [AOR = 0.13 (0.03, 0.68)]. Receiving DAART or methadone did not correlate with MVS. CONCLUSIONS: In recognition that OD is a chronic relapsing disease, strategies that initiate and retain HIV-infected prisoners with OD on BPN/NLX is an important strategy for improving HIV treatment outcomes as a community transition strategy.