Evaluation Of The Provision Of Single Use Citric Acid Sachets To ...

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APPENDIX A: Information SheetEvaluation of the Provision of Single Use Sachets of Citric Acid toInjecting Drug UsersBackgroundInformation SheetStreet heroin in the UK tends to be brown and is sold in poorly soluble base form. Inorder to make the heroin soluble, an acid must be added to convert the base into asalt. Acids that can be used to facilitate solubility include citric, ascorbic, acetic andlactic acids. Injecting drug users have tended to use readily available forms of theseacids such as processed lemon juice, fresh lemon juice, vinegar and other householdproducts. Although these products are used to promote solubility, they are in factoften a source of harm themselves, and can lead to eye and heart infections.Due to the kno wn risks asso cia te d with using more dange rous a cidifie rs, 100mg singleuse sachets of citric acid are now being offered at pharmacy exchanges in GreaterGlasgow and La na rkshire . Citric a cid is be lie ved to be the safest a cidifie r to use for thepre pa ra tion of bro wn he ro in fo r inje ctio n. It is ho ped tha t providing citric a cid sa che tsin this way will increase both the number of people attending and the number of visitsto pharmacy exchanges.The Effective Interventions Unit (Scottish Executive), Greater Glasgow NHS Board andLanarkshire NHS Board have provided funding to:• To assess if the amount of citric acid is sufficient to dissolve the amount ofheroin used per injection.• To assess if the pro vision of one sa che t pe r one needle/syringe is adequa te fo rthe needs of injectors.• To assess the number of citric burns experienced using the sachets.• To assess if the uptake of needles/syringes from pharmacies has increasedsince the introduction of the sachets.MethodologyThree hundred and sixty injecting drug users who attend pharmacy exchanges will bere cruited to the s tudy (120 from Lana rks hire NHS Boa rd a nd 240 from Greate rGlasgow NHS Board) over a three month period. Injectors will be interviewed by atrained researcher using a structured questionnaire. The schedule contains questionson respondents’ demographic characteristics, drug injecting habits and use of thecitric acid sachets. All interviews will be confidential and anonymous and should lastno more than ten minutes. Respondents will be offered a chocolate bar and a can ofjuice fo r taking the time to comple te the inte rvie w.
APPENDIX B: Structured QuestionnaireNee dle Ex change :Da te o f I nte rvie w:Time of Interview:CITRIC A CID SA CHET SURVEYABOUT YOU1. Are you male or fema le ?2. What are your initials?3. What is your date of birth? da y month year4. In the last 3 months, where have you lived most of the time?Your own/partner’s homeSomeone else’s home (e.g. parents/relatives/friends)No fixed abodeHostel/room rented on a daily basisOther (Please specify) ________________5. What area of Glasgow/Lanarkshire do you live in? _______________________6. What is the first part of your postcode?7. What age were you when you first started using drugs? years8. What age were you when you first started injecting drugs? years9. In the last 3 months, what drug you have injected most often? (Do not read out thelist of options. Tick one box only.)He ro in Co ca ine He ro in & Co ca ine toge the r C ra ckTemgesic Temazepam Temgesic & Temazepam together MethadoneDicona l Pa lfium DFs Up-Jo hnsValium Ketamine Ecstasy MSTLSD Sulphate O ther (Please specify) __________10. Please tell me all the drugs that you have injected at least once in the last 3months. (Do not read out the list of options. Tick all that apply. Prompt with “anythingelse?”)He ro in Co ca ine He ro in & Co ca ine toge the r C ra ckTemgesic Temazepam Temgesic & Temazepam together MethadoneDicona l Pa lfium DFs Up-JohnsValium Ketamine Ecstasy MSTLSD Sulphate O ther (Please specify) __________
Page 1 and 2: Effective Interventions UnitEVALUAT
Page 3 and 4: iABSTRACTThree hundred and sixty in
Page 5 and 6: 2diagnosed cases of HIV infected in
Page 7 and 8: 4and is so ld in poo rly so luble b
Page 9 and 10: 6CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGYAims & Object
Page 11 and 12: 8CHAPTER 3 RESULTSStudy Group Chara
Page 13 and 14: 10more than any other drug also inj
Page 15 and 16: 12Table 3.5. Reasons for using curr
Page 17 and 18: 14The next most common eye problem
Page 19 and 20: 16That’s what I learnt from my ma
Page 21 and 22: 18s imply re turn to the needle ex
Page 23 and 24: 20rise in the numbe r o f visits is
Page 25 and 26: 22proposed to amend the misuse of d
Page 27 and 28: 24the era of needle/syringe exchang
Page 29: 26O live r, K. J., S. R . Friedman,
Page 33 and 34: US ING THE C ITRIC AC ID S ACHETS22
Page 35 and 36: 37. In the last 3 months, approxima
Page 37: APPENDIX D: C itric Acid SachetSour

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