Project dates: January 2025 - December 2025
Principal Investigator: Fallin-Bennett K
Principal Investigator: Vickers-Smith R
In Kentucky, the UKY Harm Reduction Hub (UKHRH) launched as a pilot to provide off-site drug equipment checking in Central Kentucky. From May to August 2024, UKHRH worked with community partner organizations, including a local Recovery Community Center (RCC; Voices of Hope) to test used syringes and other drug paraphernalia collected in their sharps containers. Results were provided in an on-site meeting with RCC leadership, with an accompanying report. RCC leadership expressed interest in guidance on meaningful translation of drug checking results. Typically, unexpected results from off-site drug checking services are often communicated to the community via an alert, such as social media, printable posters or flyers, text messages, or website updates. However, there is no ‘gold standard’ for RCCs on disseminating unexpected results from drug checking. Further, there is no guidance for peers in RCCs on how to use drug checking results to provide tailored harm reduction education for participants who are in non-abstinence-based recovery.
This study aims to:
- Plan and tailor co-developed harm reduction education materials for RCCs related to drug checking results, and
- Assess RCC peer workers’ perceptions of tailored harm reduction education materials, and experiences using the materials