Needle and syringe programmes (NSP) to reduce HIV transmission | www.emcdda.europa.eu

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Summary of the evidence

Rating

Beneficial

NSP programmes were found to be effective in a systematic review (Aspinall et al., 2014), in:

reducing the transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs (pooled effect size 0.66 (95 % CI 0.43 to -1.01) across all studies, and 0.42 (95 % CI 0.22 to 0.81) across six higher quality studies)

Details

Note: this evidence summary is only valid for the outcomes, target groups, settings and substances/patterns of use described below.

Name of response option

Needle and syringe programmes (NSP)

Desired outcome(s)

reduce infectious diseases

Area(s)

Harm reduction

Specific substance or pattern of use

amphetamines
opioids

Target group(s) or setting(s)

PWID – people who inject drugs

References

Aspinall EJ, Nambiar D, Goldberg DJ, Hickman M, Weir A, Van Velzen E, Palmateer N, Doyle JS, Hellard ME,Hutchinson SJ. Are needle and syringe programmes associated with a reduction in HIV transmission among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 2014; 43(1): 235-248

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