Abstract
Opioid overdose is preventable and reversible. To target overdose prevention training and naloxone distribution, it is important to understand characteristics of those people who use drugs most likely to witness an overdose. In this paper we report the proportion and characteristics of women who use heroin that have witnessed an opioid overdose in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 200 women who use heroin. We fitted unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models with witnessing an opioid overdose as the dependent variable and sociodemographic and drug use-related variables as independent variables. The majority of participants (85%) reported having ever witnessed an opioid overdose. Age (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR]=1.09; 95% CI: 1.02-1.12), having ever attempted to stop heroin use (aOR=11.27; 95% CI: 2.25-56.46), history of arrest (aOR=3.75; 95% CI: 1.32-10.63), and spending time daily in places where people use drugs (aOR=3.72; 95% CI: 1.43-9.64) were found to be independently associated with ever witnessing an overdose. Findings suggest the need for expanded access to naloxone to lay people and community and peer-based overdose prevention training in Tanzania, including the distribution of naloxone in settings with high drug use.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.