rate of blood-borne diseases and other infectious diseases by providing
clean injection equipment and connecting PWID to various medical
assistance and social support, thus enhancing the whole community and
saving numerous public resources. By providing safe, supervised
injection spaces, SIS’s have significant positive impacts on preventing
overdoses and on reducing public injection and inappropriate injection
litter disposal. However, the public support for both of these programs is
still low. In order to reduce the health risks among people who inject
drugs and communities, people need to promote syringe service
programs and supervised injection sites.
Keywords: People who inject drugs, health risks, blood-borne diseases,
overdose, community resources, syringe services programs, supervised
injection sites, public support
People Who Inject Drugs at a Glance
The term “people who inject drugs” (PWID) refers to individuals who
use illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine, morphine, or other drugs into a
vein by using a hypodermic needle. In most cases, PWID already have
addiction or will become addicted very soon (Adamec & Gwinnell,
2008). The number of PWID is numerous. After reviewing the data from
976 credible sources from worldwide, Larney (2017) estimated that the
population of PWID is up to 15.6 million. The United States is under the
opioid epidemic crisis as well. A document posted on Centers for