DFUSION INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: ODCDC

Description

The long term goal of this project is to improve public health through the reduction of the spread of HIVHepatitis C virusand other health concerns among persons who use injection drugsPWIDPWID who share needlessyringesand other drug preparation equipment face an increased risk for bloodborne infectionsincluding HIVHepatitis C virusHCVand Hepatitis B virusHBVAn effective means for reducing the transmission of HIV and HCV is to reduce the practice of sharing syringes and injection equipment among PWID and access to non prescription sterile syringesNPSSremains essential to achieve this harm reduction goalThis project aims to support that goal by improving access to nonprescription sterile syringes at community pharmacies through the creation of a video based training platform for pharmacy personnelalong with commercially available harm reduction kitswith corresponding PWID educational materialsthat minimize burden of NPSS distribution on pharmacistsimprove pharmacists understanding of the need for NPSS distribution through pharmaciesimprove pharmacy personnel skills in the distribution of NPSSand ultimately increase access to NPSS through pharmaciesThis projectwith support from expert advisorsand based upon formative researchwill develop a prototype MicroSkillsvideo training platform for pharmacy personnel to improve their knowledge and skills for the distribution of NPSScreate a prototype harm reduction kit with safer injection supplies to accompany NPSS distributionincluding audio and video based safety education for PWIDand conduct a pilot test the prototype materials to assess impact on pharmacistsPWIDand any increase in pharmacy distribution of NPSS