New CEDEER Report & Upcoming Webinar (July 9): Use of Harm Reduction & Drug Treatment Among Syringe Services Program Participants

Citation: Newman A, Winstead T, Layman L. “I think one enhances the other”: Use of harm reduction and drug treatment among participants of syringe services programs. Seattle, WA: Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, June 2025.

Learn more about this report: Join the authors and representatives from the SSPs on July 9 (9am) for an interactive webinar! Register for the session here!

In Fall 2024, staff from ADAI’s Center for Community-Engaged Drug Education, Epidemiology & Research (CEDEER) conducted interviews with 27 participants of three syringe services programs (SSPs) in Grays Harbor, Mason, and Clark counties in Washington State. All participants had recent experience with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.

Alison Newman, MPH, Teresa Winstead, PhD, MA, and Leif Layman, MPH, just released a new report describing the conversations they had and what they learned from the folks they talked to.

Some findings include:

• Participants identified the following benefits:
  • Harm reduction/SSP benefits: Safer use supplies, wound care, basic needs, positive interactions
  • Treatment benefits: Stop or reduce use, learn coping/other skills, heal body & mind, reconned with family
• Participants had used both SSPs and SUD treatment, sometimes at the same time. SSPs were often important access points for harm reduction services before, during, and/or after treatment.
• More than half the participants were interested in receiving treatment at an SSP due to the easy access and supportive staff.
• SUD treatment programs were seen as sometimes hard to access or stay in.
• Participants endorsed expanding access to low-barrier and flexible programs where supportive staff could provide holistic care and offer supplies to meet basic needs.

Want to learn more?

• Read the complete report
• Check out the one-page summary (pictured)
• Register for a webinar on July 9 (9am PT) featuring the authors of the report and SSP staff, ready to share more about the results and answer your questions!

Related resources

• WA State Syringe Services Program Directory
• Unmet Needs, Complex Motivations, and Ideal Care for People Using Fentanyl in Washington State: A Qualitative Study, 2023
• Results from the 2023 WA State Syringe Services Program Health Survey
• Perspectives of People Who Use Methamphetamine on Reducing or Stopping Their Use, qualitative interviews from 2021