Opening and Sustaining Harm Reduction Programs
With grants from the UCF Department of Internal Medicine and the UCF Department of Medical Education, we conducted focus groups with a convenience sample of harm reduction program leaders across the United States to explore the process of opening a harm reduction program and approaches to ensuring program sustainability.
Selected Publications and Presentations
“Opening and Sustaining a Syringe Services Program: Perspectives of Harm Reduction Program Leaders in the United States” (oral presentation, Florida Harm Reduction Conference 2022)
“A Qualitative Study of Barriers/Facilitators to Harm Reduction Program Sustainability” (poster presentation, UCF Global Health Conference 2023)
“A Qualitative Study of Barriers/Facilitators to Harm Reduction Program Sustainability” (oral presentation, UCF Public Administration Research Conference 2023)
Co-Use of Opioids and Stimulants in the U.S.
With a grant from UCF’s Office of Research and Office of the Provost, we conducted qualitative interviews and a survey with harm reduction program leaders and participants from across U.S. to identify reasons for increasing co-use of stimulants and opioids, as well as the ways in which harm reduction programs are addressing risks related to this co-use.
Selected Publications and Presentations
“The Co-Use of Opioids and Stimulants: Causes, Practices, and Harm Reduction Responses to an Emerging Polysubstance Use Trend in the United States” (oral presentation, Florida Harm Reduction Conference 2023)
“The Co-Use of Opioids and Stimulants: Causes, Practices, and Harm Reduction Responses to an Emerging Polysubstance Use Trend in the United States” (oral presentation, UCF Global Health Conference 2024)
“The Co-Use of Opioids and Stimulants: Causes, Practices, and Harm Reduction Responses to an Emerging Polysubstance Use Trend in the United States” (oral presentation, UCF Substance Use Policy Evaluation and Research (S.U.P.E.R.) Symposium 2024)
Harm Reduction Support among U.S. College Students
We conducted a survey with a convenience sample of students at two U.S. universities to examine their perceptions of and support form harm reduction policies (e.g., syringe/needle distribution, Good Samaritan laws, and drug content testing) and different drug treatment modalities.
Selected Publications and Presentations
Harm Reduction Policy Support among Students at Two U.S. Universities (Authors: Barbara Andraka-Christou, Thuy Nguyen, Shana Harris, Danielle N. Atkins, Rachel Totaram, Olivia Golan, Andriy Koval, and Jody Madeira. Source: Substance Use & Misuse 57(8):1185-1195)
A Pilot Study of U.S. College Students’ 12-Step Orientation and the Relationship With Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (Authors: Barbara Andraka-Christou, Thuy Nguyen, Shana Harris, Jody Madeira, Rachel Totaram, Olivia Randall-Kosich, and Danielle N. Atkins. Source: Journal of American College Health 70(8):2383-2391)
Provision of MOUD and PrEP at a Syringe Service Program
In collaboration with the University of Miami, we conducted qualitative analysis of interview data obtained from a convenience sample of Miami’s syringe service program (SSP) participants regarding the acceptability of providing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP) via their mobile SSP unit.
Selected Publications and Presentations
“We Want Everything in a One-Stop Shop”: Acceptability and Feasibility of PrEP and Buprenorphine Implementation with Mobile Syringe Services for Black People Who Inject Drugs (Authors: Tyler S. Bartholomew, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Rachel K. Totaram, Shana Harris, Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, Lily Oster, David P. Serota, David W. Forrest, Teresa A. Chueng, Edward Suarez, and Hansel E. Tookes; Source: Harm Reduction Journal 2022; 19:133)