“Because we’re the experts”: centering the expertise of people who use drugs to identify and propose solutions for overdose prevention
This work reinforces a need for multi-dimensional, comprehensive interventions, programs, and policies to address the overdose crisis. Collectively, new and continued overdose prevention programming should broaden access to and use of harm reduction tools (e.g., naloxone, drug checking) and substance use and mental health treatments as well as reform policies that negatively impact the health of people who use drugs. Our findings underscore the need to incorporate the expertise of directly impacted populations into future research and program planning focused on overdose prevention by partnering with people who use drugs.
Authors
- Joella S. Striebel
- Mikaela Becker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7324-5987)
- Rachel E. Gicquelais (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7022-6385)
- Ryan P. Westergaard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-4516)
- Jess E. Morrow
- Caitlin Conway
- Erika J Bailey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5905-3624)
- Rick Schaefer
- Emily Claypool (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5516-9589)
- Katy Mijal
- Elizabeth M. Salisbury-Afshar
- Sonya Angeles
- David W. Seal
- Zachary Crews
- Patrick Kemp
Institutions
- Tulane University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (US)
- Milwaukee Health Department (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Harm Reduction Journal
- Published
- 2025-12-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-025-01368-9
- Primary Topic
- Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00