Effectiveness of Safe Needle Disposal Programs for Injection Drug Users: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis

Drug users who inject illicit drugs in public spaces typically discard soiled needles (“discards”) in or around those spaces. Discards pose a risk to public health, diminish community quality of life, and are a primary reason for local opposition to crucial health services for injection drug users. Eliminating needle discards is an important element of policies and programs intended to reduce the harms of public injection. This project aimed to examine the spatio-temporal patterns of discards and their relationship to the effectiveness of safe needle disposal alternatives.

---