On this page you can find relevant researchs on drug-related health topics, including HIV, hepatitis C, drug and overdose prevention, harm reduction and drug treatment. You can also find our Clinical Guidelines.

Language, identity and HIV: why do we keep talking about the responsible and responsive use of language? Language matters
Letter to the editor of the Journal of International AIDS Society. Which aims to "seek to shift the language used in relation to ourselves, our medical condition, our bodies, our identities and the events we face, towards something more life-enhancing, self-affirming and positive in outlook"
The impact of compulsory drug detention exposure on the avoidance of healthcare among injection drug users in Thailand
Thomas Kerr et al. undertook this study in the Mitsampan Community Research Project based in Bangkok. They concluded "that exposure to compulsory drug detention was associated with avoiding healthcare among Thai IDU, suggesting that this system of detention may be contributing to the burden of preventable morbidity among IDU in this setting."
HIV and Injecting Drug Use
This report from National AIDS Trust and Public Health England (PHE) provides a detailed account of the emerging trends in injecting behaviour and associated new health risks. It gives recommendations on how to respond to these injecting behaviours, in particular the use of newer drugs by gay and bisexual men in the context of high risk sexual behaviour, and the injecting of image and performance enhancing drugs.
Effect of buprenorphine dose on treatment outcome
"How much buprenorphine does it take to keep patients in treatment and suppress illicit use of heroin or other opiate-type drugs? This review concludes that on average higher is better than lower, but that individualising dose and a preparedness to go high if needed are the keys to effective treatment."
The new danger of synthetic drugs
Editorial published in the Lancet which investigates the wave of novel drugs designed by chemists globally and how policy makers are struggling with this new market. Dr Prosser says “It’s tough as a clinician because even if you do believe the patient is being honest with you, they don’t always know exactly what they’ve taken”, she says. “People will come in and say they used a drug, but they really have no idea.”
The Challenge of Change:Improving services for women involved in prostitution and substance use
Briefing from DrugScope and Against Violence and Abuse (AVA) makes strategic and policy recommendations to "improve interventions and outcomes for these women, as well as good practice recommendations for services. A key recommendation is to consideration of the specialist needs of this group when planning national strategies and local services, to prevent these women falling through the net, and to encourage them into services"
Evidence-Based Drug Policies for an Effective HIV Response (presentations)
Presentations from panel at the 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (30 June – 3 July 2013) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia "Why should physicians, researchers, service users, advocates and policy makers focusing on HIV learn and act for evidence-based narcotic drug policies?"
IDS Event Briefing: Bringing Development In
Institute of Development Studies (IDS) hosted the "Global Drug and Development Policy Roundup, a new forum for discussing the nexus between the production, trade and use of illicit drugs, and development. It was conceived in response to persisting concerns that the international development and drug policy communities do not communicate sufficiently with one another, and that broader strategic cooperation is highly necessary."
Government Must Stop HIV in Romania - TAKE ACTION!
A short film by Hungarian Civil Liberties Union reports that there is a raise in new HIV cases in people who inject drugs in Romania due to the increase of people injecting 'legal' highs. There are also running a petition which calls on the government to provide sustainable funding for the harm reduction programmes in Romania to stop the spread of HIV.
Opioid overdose rates and implementation of overdose education and nasal naloxone distribution in Massachusetts: interrupted time series analysis
The aim of the study, conducted by the Clinical Addiction Research Education Unit of the Boston University School of Medicine, "is to evaluate the impact of state supported overdose education and nasal naloxone distribution (OEND) programs on rates of opioid related death from overdose and acute care utilization in Massachusetts."
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