Dinah P. Applewhite, M.D.
Fellow in Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General
Hospital
PGY-4
03/06/2020
Injection of drugs such as
opioids, methamphetamine and cocaine, carries with it many risks, including
venous damage, overdose, and infections. When people who inject drugs (PWID)
interface with the medical system, there are often are missed opportunities for
healthcare workers to facilitate safer injection among PWID. This study aims to
better understand injection practices and factors contributing to those
practices, such as knowledge, attitudes, access to injection supplies, and
structural determinants of health.
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| Example of safer injection supplies |
The survey has been approved by
the IRB and we are now piloting it among group of PWID. The timeline is behind
schedule by two months due to delays getting the final approval by the IRB. The
delay was in large part because of a technical error I made when responding to
the initial review. I made the mistake of deleting the original documents,
which resulted in a very prolonged and frustrating process consisting of
multiple phone calls with IRB staff and resubmissions. Last week when I got the
final IRB approval, I felt such a wave of relief. Lesson learned (which seems
so obvious in retrospect): Read the IRB instructions--your mistakes will cost
you time!
I am excited to administer the
survey over the next few months. We have a fantastic team of research staff and
volunteers. Ultimately, we will use this data to inform an intervention to
improve the quality of care for PWID who seek care at MGH. This intervention
will involve facilitating access to safer injection supplies and harm reduction
messaging around safer injection techniques.
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