City-level drug policies in Portugal: the COVID-19 pandemic as an analyzer of harm reduction responsiveness in Porto and Lisbon.

IF 4 2区 社会学 Q1 SUBSTANCE ABUSE Harm Reduction Journal Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI:10.1186/s12954-025-01179-y
Cristiana Vale Pires, Adriana Curado, Ricardo Fuertes, Maria Carmo Carvalho, Helena Valente
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic health crisis and its potential implications for people who use drugs (PWUD) created permissive conditions toward social innovation and experimentation. Still, it also exposed gaps in harm reduction approaches. Harm reduction responsiveness was informed by the priorities defined at the local level, so it was not applied uniformly in different regions. This paper intends to contribute to the analysis of harm reduction responsiveness during the COVID-19 outbreak by comparing the adaptations and implementation of harm reduction and municipal services to support street-involved (SI) PWUD in two Portuguese cities- Porto and Lisbon. This study aims to shed light on the city-level implementation of drug policies in Portugal.

Methods: This study is based on a comparative qualitative analysis based on the experiences of PWUD and Harm Reduction (HR) professionals regarding the implementation of harm reduction responses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Porto and Lisbon. The study is based on interviews with SI PWUD (n = 22, 12 in Porto and 10 in Lisbon) and online focus groups with harm reduction professionals (N = 12, 6 in Porto and 6 in Lisbon).

Results: Harm reduction teams in Porto and Lisbon implemented contingency plans and proactive adaptations to respond to the pandemic-related emerging needs. However, the study revealed contrasting experiences in the city-level support to harm reduction and responsiveness to the impacts of COVID-19 among SI PWUD in Porto and Lisbon. There were relevant differences in the support they received from the City Council and the city-level responses implemented to support SI PWUD. While the approach in Porto was described as restrictive and zero-tolerance towards drug use, Lisbon´s strategy was harm reduction-focused and inclusive. The study participants revealed better results in Lisbon regarding the harm reduction responsiveness to the pandemic health crisis and the accessibility and adherence of SI PWUD to services.

Conclusion: The pandemic constraints and adaptations must be contextualized in the ongoing city-level debates regarding drug policies and harm reduction in Portugal. Moreover, city-level drug policies and local support are crucial to map the opportunities and challenges of implementing the Portuguese Drug Decriminalization Model in different contexts.

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来源期刊
Harm Reduction Journal
Harm Reduction Journal Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
CiteScore
5.90
自引率
9.10%
发文量
126
审稿时长
26 weeks
期刊介绍: Harm Reduction Journal is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal whose focus is on the prevalent patterns of psychoactive drug use, the public policies meant to control them, and the search for effective methods of reducing the adverse medical, public health, and social consequences associated with both drugs and drug policies. We define "harm reduction" as "policies and programs which aim to reduce the health, social, and economic costs of legal and illegal psychoactive drug use without necessarily reducing drug consumption". We are especially interested in studies of the evolving patterns of drug use around the world, their implications for the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne pathogens.
期刊最新文献
Anonymous Opt-Out HIV and hepatitis C screening at a syringe services program in Florida. City-level drug policies in Portugal: the COVID-19 pandemic as an analyzer of harm reduction responsiveness in Porto and Lisbon. Is fentanyl in everything? Examining the unexpected occurrence of illicit opioids in British Columbia's drug supply. Breaking the vicious cycle of delayed healthcare seeking for people who use drugs. Prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C and access to opioid substitution treatment among people who inject drugs in three cities in Croatia: findings from the second wave of respondent-driven sampling surveys.
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