Vending

Researchers explore benefits of harm reduction vending machines

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June 13, 2022

New research from Australia indicates harm reduction vending machines can engage people with medication and refer them to hetatitis C testing or treatment, according to a report in Filter, a magazine focusing on drug use and policy.

The research, published in the Harm Reduction Journal, began in 2020 and focused on a machine close to a public opioid treatment program and a hospital emergency department in Sydney.

The machine offers sterile syringes to prevent disease transmission from shared needles.

The researchers studied footage from a CCTV camera over a two-week period and witnessed 428 cases of people using the machine. Researchers also surveyed people using the machine for 10 weeks and collected 70 surveys and conducted 15 interviews.