The potential benefits of a needle and syringe program in Australian prisons

作者：Alexander Thompson, Michael H Levy · 发表于：The Medical Journal of Australia · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.5694/mja2.52644 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk、Homelessness and Social Issues、HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Unsafe injecting practices are associated with a substantial risk of bloodborne virus infections, most notably hepatitis C, and of injection-related injuries and infections. Needle and syringe programs are cost-effective interventions that reduce bloodborne virus spread in community settings.1-4 Needle and syringe programs are also likely to reduce the risk of injection-related injuries and infections, including phlebitis, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, and endocarditis. The World Health Organization recommends the distribution of 200 needles and syringes per person who injects drugs per year as a harm reduction strategy.5, 6 Australia has a proud history of providing people who inject drugs with safe injecting equipment; it is one of the few countries with high needle and syringe coverage in the community. However, this coverage excludes prisons, although the proportion of people who inject drugs is larger and the prevalence of needle sharing higher than in the general community;7 13% of people discharged from prison report sharing injecting equipment in prison, and 22% of young people leaving prison (18–24 years) report receiving tattoos or body piercing while in prison.8 Although Australia has committed to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which require health care in prisons equivalent to that in the community,9 there have been no regulated prison needle and syringe programs in Australia. Prison-based needle and syringe programs current...