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Wiley InterScience | |||||||||||
  AddictionVolume 97 Issue 7, Pages 845 - 850 Published Online: 25 Jun 2002 Journal compilation © 2010 Society for the Study of Addiction Published on behalf of the Society for the Study of Addiction
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 138K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  Over a decade of syringe exchange: results from 1997 UK survey Copyright 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd. KEYWORDS Harm reduction • injecting drug use • needle exchange • syringe exchange ABSTRACT
AimsTo describe syringe exchange provision in the United Kingdom . DesignTwo-phase cross-sectional survey: phase I, establishing a sampling frame of syringe exchange coordinators (n = 420); phase II, surveying the coordinators seeking data on the number of syringe exchange outlets, visits and syringes distributed during April 1997 (68% response rate). SettingUnited Kingdom. FindingsIn 1997, nearly all Health Authorities in the United Kingdom (96%) operated some form of syringe exchange service, except Northern Ireland. In April 1997, 1 707 000 syringes were reported as being distributed. Assuming that non-responders coordinated the median number of outlets and distributed the median number of syringes as responders, we estimate that 27 million syringes were distributed annually from over 2000 outlets in the United Kingdom. The number distributed in Scotland was 3–4 times less than in England when measured as a number per adult (15–44), drug user in treatment, or estimated injecting drug user. ConclusionsOverall, there has been a 6.5-fold increase in syringe distribution in England since 1991. The number of syringes distributed in the United Kingdom may be higher than the United States. However, there appears to be unequal distribution of syringes within the United Kingdom, which may be associated with higher levels of HCV among injectors in Scotland compared to England.
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