Departments of Community and Behavioral Health (Dr Brooks-Russell), Epidemiology (Dr Lee-Winn and Ms Alishahi), and Health Policy and Management (Ms Brandspigel), Colorado School of Public Health, and Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health, Department of Pediatrics (Ms Franco), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021;27(4):361-368. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001261.
The decision to initiate a syringe service program or expand to a supervised use site is often influenced by local public support or opposition.
The purpose of this study was to better understand public attitudes to local syringe service programs to inform the possibility of expanding services.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We surveyed a sample of registered voters (n = 690) in the 8 counties in the state of Colorado with existing syringe service programs.
Respondents were asked about their awareness of and attitudes toward syringe service programs and supervised use sites.
More than three-fourths of respondents reported they were familiar with syringe service programs, but only a quarter knew they were legal, despite all survey respondents living near an operating program. Nearly one in 3 respondents thought a syringe service program or a supervised use site makes a community better, and a majority (57%) thought supervised use sites should be legal in their state. There were significant differences in attitudes toward the benefits and risks of syringe service programs by political party affiliation.
Understanding the level of community knowledge and support for syringe service programs, as well as the reasons for opposition, can be helpful in addressing community concerns when seeking to initiate or expand services.
启动注射器服务项目或扩展到监督使用场所的决定通常受到当地公众支持或反对的影响。
本研究旨在更好地了解公众对当地注射器服务项目的态度，为扩大服务提供信息。
设计、地点和参与者：我们调查了科罗拉多州 8 个县已有的注射器服务项目的登记选民样本（n=690）。
受访者被问及他们对注射器服务项目和监督使用场所的认识和态度。
超过四分之三的受访者表示熟悉注射器服务项目，但只有四分之一的人知道它们是合法的，尽管所有调查受访者都住在一个正在运作的项目附近。近三分之一的受访者认为注射器服务项目或监督使用场所可以使社区变得更好，大多数（57%）人认为监督使用场所应该在他们所在的州合法化。对注射器服务项目的好处和风险的态度因政党归属而存在显著差异。
了解社区对注射器服务项目的了解程度和支持程度，以及反对的原因，有助于在寻求启动或扩大服务时解决社区的关切。
