IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2230-d750652.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug Use Behaviors, Fentanyl Exposure, and Harm Reduction Service Support among People Who Use Drugs in Rural Settings

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca S. Bolinski

    (Department of Sociology, Southern Illinois University, 475 Clocktower Drive, Room 323A, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

  • Suzan Walters

    (Center for Drug Use and HIV|HCV Research, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA)

  • Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar

    (Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53792, USA)

  • Lawrence J. Ouellet

    (Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics/COIP (MC 923), School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, 1603 W. Taylor, Chicago, IL 60607, USA)

  • Wiley D. Jenkins

    (Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Population Science and Policy, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62794, USA)

  • Ellen Almirol

    (Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA)

  • Brent Van Ham

    (Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

  • Scott Fletcher

    (The Community Action Place, Inc., 1400 N. Wood Road Suite 7, Murphysboro, IL 62966, USA)

  • Christian Johnson

    (Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA)

  • John A. Schneider

    (Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA)

  • Danielle Ompad

    (Center for Drug Use and HIV|HCV Research, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
    Department of Epidemiology, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA)

  • Mai T. Pho

    (Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA)

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the opioid overdose crisis in the US. Rural communities have been disproportionately affected by opioid use and people who use drugs in these settings may be acutely vulnerable to pandemic-related disruptions due to high rates of poverty, social isolation, and pervasive resource limitations. Methods: We performed a mixed-methods study to assess the impact of the pandemic in a convenience sample of people who use drugs in rural Illinois. We conducted 50 surveys capturing demographics, drug availability, drug use, sharing practices, and mental health symptoms. In total, 19 qualitative interviews were performed to further explore COVID-19 knowledge, impact on personal and community life, drug acquisition and use, overdose, and protective substance use adaptations. Results: Drug use increased during the pandemic, including the use of fentanyl products such as gel encapsulated “beans” and “buttons”. Disruptions in supply, including the decreased availability of heroin, increased methamphetamine costs and a concomitant rise in local methamphetamine production, and possible fentanyl contamination of methamphetamine was reported. Participants reported increased drug use alone, experience and/or witness of overdose, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Consistent access to harm reduction services, including naloxone and fentanyl test strips, was highlighted as a source of hope and community resiliency. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic period was characterized by changing drug availability, increased overdose risk, and other drug-related harms faced by people who use drugs in rural areas. Our findings emphasize the importance of ensuring access to harm reduction services, including overdose prevention and drug checking for this vulnerable population.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca S. Bolinski & Suzan Walters & Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar & Lawrence J. Ouellet & Wiley D. Jenkins & Ellen Almirol & Brent Van Ham & Scott Fletcher & Christian Johnson & John A. Schneider & Dan, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug Use Behaviors, Fentanyl Exposure, and Harm Reduction Service Support among People Who Use Drugs in Rural Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-12, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2230-:d:750652
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2230/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2230/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alessio Gili & Mauro Bacci & Kyriaki Aroni & Alessia Nicoletti & Angela Gambelunghe & Isabella Mercurio & Cristiana Gambelunghe, 2021. "Changes in Drug Use Patterns during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Monitoring a Vulnerable Group by Hair Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-11, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ahmed Al-Imam & Marek A. Motyka & Zuzanna Witulska & Manal Younus & Michał Michalak, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Mapping of Online Interest in Cannabis and Popular Psychedelics before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Jayme E. Walters & Aubrey E. Jones & Aaron R. Brown & Dorothy Wallis, 2022. "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Rural Opioid Support Services Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Jeff Ondocsin & Daniel Ciccarone & Lissa Moran & Simon Outram & Dan Werb & Laura Thomas & Emily A. Arnold, 2023. "Insights from Drug Checking Programs: Practicing Bootstrap Public Health Whilst Tailoring to Local Drug User Needs," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-19, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jacques Gaume & Elodie Schmutz & Jean-Bernard Daeppen & Frank Zobel, 2021. "Evolution of the Illegal Substances Market and Substance Users’ Social Situation and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Alessio Gili & Massimo Lancia & Angela Gambelunghe & Luca Tomassini & Alessia Nicoletti & Kyriaki Aroni & Cristiana Gambelunghe, 2023. "Long-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug/Alcohol Use Prevalence in a Population with Substance Use Disorders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-10, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2230-:d:750652. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.