Harm reduction stories: leveraging graphic medicine to engage veterans in substance use services within the VA.

Background: Harm reduction strategies can decrease morbidity and mortality associated with substance use. Various barriers limit conversation around substance use between clinicians and patients. Graphic medicine techniques can inform and encourage patient-centered conversations about substance use.

The integration of harm reduction services in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA): a qualitative analysis of barriers and facilitators.

Background: Substance use is common among U.S. military veterans and veterans are at high risk for negative consequences associated with substance use, such as injection-related infections and overdose.

Comparing COVID-19-related Morbidity and Mortality Between Patients With and Without Substance Use Disorders: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: People with substance use disorders (SUD) are suggested to have higher risk of hospitalization, intubation, or death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), although data are mixed. Little is known about other COVID-19-related complications in this group. We compared morbidity and mortality among individuals with and without SUD who were admitted to an urban safety net hospital with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, contemporaneous to other published studies on this subject.

Examining the relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea and eating behaviours and attitudes: A systematic review.

Background: Between 60 and 90% of adults with OSA are reported as overweight. The co-existence of obesity and OSA can greatly increase an individual's risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. To better understand this relationship between OSA and weight, this review aimed to investigate if there is evidence of certain eating behaviours or eating attitudes that might be found in adults living with OSA.

Integration of a community-based harm reduction program into a safety net hospital: a qualitative study.

Background: Community-based harm reduction programs reduce morbidity and mortality associated with drug use. While hospital-based inpatient addiction consult services can also improve outcomes for patients using drugs, inpatient clinical care is often focused on acute withdrawal and the medical management of substance use disorders. There has been limited exploration of the integration of community-based harm reduction programs into the hospital setting.

Six Moments of Infection Prevention in Injection Drug Use: An Educational Toolkit for Clinicians.

Background: Injection drug use-associated bacterial and viral infections are increasing. Expanding access to harm reduction services, such as safe injection education, are effective prevention strategies. However, these strategies have had limited uptake.

Sexually Transmitted and Blood-borne Infections Among Patients Presenting to a Low-barrier Substance Use Disorder Medication Clinic.

Objective: To study the infection-related needs of patients with substance use disorders initiating care at a low-barrier-to-access program (LBAP) by describing the proportion with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV), syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia and determining rates of treatment and/or linkage to care.

Methods: We reviewed the records of patients who completed an intake visit at an LBAP in Boston, MA during the first 9 months after implementation of a standardized intake laboratory panel (January 30, 2017-September 30, 2017).

Results: Among 393 patients initiating care, 84.

Factors associated with no or delayed linkage to care in newly diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected patients identified by emergency department-based rapid HIV screening programs in two urban EDs.

Objectives: The objective was to describe the proportions of successful linkage to care (LTC) and identify factors associated with LTC among newly diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, from two urban emergency department (ED) rapid HIV screening programs.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of programmatic data from two established urban ED rapid HIV screening programs between November 2005 and October 2009. Trained HIV program assistants interviewed all patients tested to gather risk behavior data using a structured data collection instrument.

Will patients "opt in" to perform their own rapid HIV test in the emergency department?

Objective: We evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of existing point-of-care HIV tests performed by an untrained patient compared with the routinely used HIV point-of-care test offered to patients in 2 urban emergency departments (EDs).

Methods: From April 2008 through December 2009, patients who had completed a standard HIV oral fluid test performed by a trained health care professional and who were unaware of their results were recruited to perform a rapid point-of-care HIV test. Patients were given a choice of the oral fluid or the fingerstick blood point-of-care test.

2009 US emergency department HIV testing practices.

Objectives: We characterize HIV testing practices and programs in US emergency departments (EDs) in 2009.

Methods: A national Web-based survey of members of the National ED HIV Testing Consortium, participants in the 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-sponsored ED HIV Testing Workshops, all US academic EDs, and a weighted random sample of US community EDs with snowball sampling to recruit additional testing sites was conducted. Data collected included geographic location, estimated seroprevalence, indications for testing, method of consent, weekly number of tests, funding, and costs.

Research priorities for human immunodeficiency virus and sexually transmitted infections surveillance, screening, and intervention in emergency departments: consensus-based recommendations.

This article describes the results of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention in the emergency department (ED) component of the 2009 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference entitled "Public Health in the ED: Surveillance, Screening, and Intervention." The objectives were to use experts to define knowledge gaps and priority research questions related to the performance of HIV and STI surveillance, screening, and intervention in the ED. A four-step nominal group technique was applied using national and international experts in HIV and STI prevention.