Theme: Epidemiology and Public Health Research Year: 2021
Background: COVID-19 and associated control measures have likely affected the delivery of interventions to prevent and control blood-borne viruses (BBVs) among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Scotland. We assessed the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 on: 1) needle and syringe provision (NSP), 2) opioid substitution therapy (OST) and 3) BBV testing (HIV and HCV). Methods: Segmented regression was used to model the impact of the first COVID-19 wave on each intervention; the 23rd March 2020 (date of first lockdown) was chosen as the key change point. The study period was from September 2018 to August 2020. Four different data sources representing each intervention were analysed (NSP, OST, HIV and HCV test). Outcomes were counts aggregated by week, except OST that was aggregated by month. Results: Preliminary results showed that the number of needles/syringes (n/s) distributed, HIV tests and HCV tests in drug services/prisons, decreased by 18% (RR=0.816, 95% CI 0.750 to 0.887, p
Download abstract Watch video