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Drug consumption rooms to reach most marginalized injecting drug users and to facilitate access to health care services
Summary of the evidence
DCRs were found to be effective in a systematic review without meta-analysis (Kennedy et al., 2017, 47 studies) in:
- facilitating access and uptake of health care services, both addiction services (4 studies) and other health or social services (9 studies).
A systematic review (Potier et al., 2014), without meta-analysis, concluded that:
- DCRs are effective in reaching the most marginalized and problematic injecting users.
Another systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies (McNeil et al., 2014, 21 studies, n>800) that looked specifically at the effects of three types of safer environment interventions (SEI - syringe exchange, peer-based approaches and drug consumption rooms) found that SEI:
- provide refuge from street-based drug scene
- enable safer injecting by reshaping social and environmental contexts
- mediate access to resources and health care services
Details
Note: this evidence summary is only valid for the outcomes, target groups, settings and substances/patterns of use described below.
