Publications by authors named "Audrey Lambert"
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on involuntary civil commitment (ICC) for substance use disorders, specifically how outreach teams in Massachusetts perceive and promote ICC in their work following drug overdoses.
- Data collected from surveys and interviews indicated that 36% of outreach programs focused on ICC at least half the time, influencing their treatment philosophies and collaborations.
- Key themes from the interviews revealed mixed views on ICC, with some considering it essential for engagement in treatment, while others were skeptical about its effectiveness and worried about possible negative consequences.
Background: Post-overdose outreach programs engage overdose survivors and their families soon after an overdose event. Staff implementing these programs are routinely exposed to others' trauma, which makes them vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress (STS) and compassion fatigue. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of STS and associated upstream and downstream risk and protective factors among program staff.
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- Women who use drugs have different and often more difficult experiences compared to men when it comes to treatment.
- In a study with 36 women in cities like Boston and San Francisco, they shared their stories about drug use and how being a woman affected their situation.
- Many of these women faced violence and trauma, so it’s important to create safer support services that understand and cater to their specific needs.
Background: Post-overdose outreach programs have proliferated in response to opioid overdose. Implementing these programs is associated with reductions in overdose rates, but the role of specific program characteristics in overdose trends has not been evaluated.
Methods: Among 58 Massachusetts municipalities with post-overdose outreach programs, we examined associations between five domains of post-overdose outreach program characteristics (outreach contact rate, naloxone distribution, coercive practices, harm reduction activities, and social service provision or referral) and rates of fatal opioid overdoses and opioid-related emergency medical system responses (i.
Objective: Accurate naloxone distribution data are critical for planning and prevention purposes, yet sources of naloxone dispensing data vary by location, and completeness of local datasets is unknown. We sought to compare available datasets in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York City (NYC) to a commercially available pharmacy national claims dataset (Symphony Health Solutions).
Data Sources And Study Setting: We utilized retail pharmacy naloxone dispensing data from NYC (2018-2019), Rhode Island (2013-2019), and Massachusetts (2014-2018), and pharmaceutical claims data from Symphony Health Solutions (2013-2019).
Article Synopsis
- Nonfatal opioid overdoses significantly increase the risk of subsequent fatal overdoses, highlighting the need for effective outreach programs to connect overdose survivors with addiction treatment and harm reduction services.
- This study aimed to assess whether municipalities in Massachusetts with postoverdose outreach programs experienced lower opioid fatality rates compared to those without such programs between 2013 and 2019.
- Data collected from 93 municipalities showed that while the outreach programs were implemented in 62% of these areas, the study found no significant reduction in opioid fatality rates after the implementation of these programs.
Article Synopsis
- Drug overdose deaths are on the rise, mainly due to fentanyl, highlighting the need for new prevention strategies beyond existing tools like naloxone.
- The study aims to adapt a behavioral intervention called REBOOT, initially piloted in San Francisco, for use in Boston during the fentanyl crisis.
- Researchers utilized the ADAPT-ITT framework to gather feedback from opioid overdose survivors through focus groups, refining the intervention based on the participants' insights and expert reviews.
Background: Naloxone is a prescription medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Allowing naloxone to be dispensed directly by a pharmacist without an individual prescription under a naloxone standing order (NSO) can expand access. The community-level factors associated with naloxone dispensed under NSO are unknown.
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- - The study investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals' experiences with addiction treatment and harm reduction services, focusing on a group of participants from Boston aged 18-65 with a history of opioid use disorder.
- - Twenty participants shared their experiences through in-depth interviews, revealing three main perspectives on changes in addiction care during the pandemic: liberating, destabilizing, and unjust.
- - The "liberating" group appreciated the flexibility and safety provided by adaptations, while the "destabilizing" group faced disruptions to their supports, and the "unjust" group, often unhoused, felt further marginalized by these changes.
Article Synopsis
- Post-overdose outreach programs in Massachusetts blend police and public health efforts to engage overdose survivors, often using 911 call data and warrant checks before outreach visits.
- A survey showed that around 57% of these programs conduct warrant checks, leading to various strategies, including outreach without addressing warrants or delaying until warrants are cleared.
- Interviews highlight the complexities of warrant checking, revealing that motivations, tensions in police roles, and the impact on outreach strategies can lead to unintended consequences.
For persons diagnosed with HIV and who are coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), chronic liver disease is a leading cause of death and excessive consumption of alcohol can be a contributing factor. Little is known about the factors these individuals identify as key to achieving sustained sobriety. In this qualitative study, fourteen HIV/HCV coinfected persons who endorsed past problematic drinking were interviewed about their path to sustained sobriety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcohol use contributes to the progression of liver disease in HIV-HCV co-infected persons, but alcohol interventions have never addressed low levels of alcohol use in this population. We enrolled 110 persons consuming at least 4 alcoholic drinks weekly in a clinical trial comparing two active 18-month long interventions, delivered every 3 months by phone, brief advice about drinking versus a motivational intervention. Final assessment was at 24 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt has been suggested that chronic eczematous eruptions of the elderly could be associated with chronic drug exposure. To determine the drugs associated with these eruptions, we conducted a case-control study on 102 cases and 204 controls. Cases were consecutive patients older than 60 years presenting with an eczematous eruption that had evolved continuously or recurrently for more than 3 months without a reliable cause.
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