What treatment services are effective for people who are homeless and use drugs?

A research article has been published in the PLOS One journal titled “What treatment services are effective for people who are homeless and use drugs? A systematic review of reviews.” Problematic AOD use can both lead to homelessness, or can develop in response to homelessness. Providing housing to people with substance use disorders can be challenging, with services having to manage a degree of intoxication which many other services refuse to deal with. The systematic review found a range of evidence that highlighted the barriers faced by homeless people with AOD problems. It also found that while there was limited evidence around interventions for this specific population, there was evidence that harm reduction approaches (such as opioid replacement therapy, needle and syringe provision, supervised consumption facilities and peer-administered naloxone) were effective at reducing harms. Case management approaches were also found to be effective, highlighting that this group often has a broad range of needs that often can’t be met by only one narrow service type.

Go to “What treatment services are effective for people who are homeless and use drugs? A systematic review of reviews.”