Safe Injection Sites and Drug Injection Overdose: A Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Canada is struggling with the escalating rate of drug injection overdose deaths. Harm reduction interventions can be implemented to address this epidemic. Safe injection sites are one of those harm reduction interventions but implementation in Canada has been politically hampered. The purpose of this paper is to show how safe injection sites are an effective harm reduction intervention for fatal drug injection overdose. Methods: A literature review was conducted to determine the impact of safe injection sites on fatal drug injection overdose. Inclusionary criteria were: peer-reviewed journal articles, published between 2003 and 2016, in English, and were primary research that discussed the impact of safe injection sites on fatal drug injection overdose in Canada. Exclusionary criteria were: journal articles that were secondary research, grey literature, and journal articles that researched the benefits of safe injection sites other than drug injection overdose prevention. Four databases produced 22 journal articles pertinent to this study. They were analyzed to identify themes. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) overdose from injection drug use was better managed in safe injection sites, (2) safe injection sites reduced mortality rates from drug injection overdose, and (3) safe injection sites are utilized by injection drug users. Conclusion: Safe injection sites are an effective harm reduction intervention for fatal drug injection overdose.