Funding and Delivery of Syringe Services Programs in the United States, 2022

To describe the current financial health of syringe services programs (SSPs) in the United States and to assess the predictors of SSP budget levels and associations with delivery of public health interventions. We surveyed all known SSPs operating in the United States from February to June 2022 (n =...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican journal of public health (1971) Vol. 114; no. 4; pp. 435 - 443
Main Authors Facente, Shelley N, Humphrey, Jamie L, Akiba, Christopher, Patel, Sheila V, Wenger, Lynn D, Tookes, Hansel, Bluthenthal, Ricky N, LaKosky, Paul, Prohaska, Stephanie, Morris, Terry, Kral, Alex H, Lambdin, Barrot H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Public Health Association 01.04.2024
Subjects
Access to Care
Benchmarks
Budgets
Community Health
Costs
Counties
COVID-19
Departments
Drug overdose
Drugs
Fentanyl
Financial services
Funding
Health Care Facilities/Services
Health Financing
Health promotion
Hepatitis
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Medical screening
Naloxone
Narcotics
Nonprofit organizations
Opioids
Overdose
Pandemics
Prevention
Public health
Public Health Practice
Research & Analysis
Substance abuse treatment
Syringes
Telemedicine
Viral infections
Wound healing
United States > US
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Summary:To describe the current financial health of syringe services programs (SSPs) in the United States and to assess the predictors of SSP budget levels and associations with delivery of public health interventions. We surveyed all known SSPs operating in the United States from February to June 2022 (n = 456), of which 68% responded (n = 311). We used general estimating equations to assess factors influencing SSP budget size and estimated the effects of budget size on multiple measures of SSP services. The median SSP annual budget was $100 000 (interquartile range = $20 159‒$290 000). SSPs operating in urban counties and counties with higher levels of opioid overdose mortality had significantly higher budget levels, while SSPs located in counties with higher levels of Republican voting in 2020 had significantly lower budget levels. SSP budget levels were significantly and positively associated with syringe and naloxone distribution coverage. Current SSP funding levels do not meet minimum benchmarks. Increased funding would help SSPs meet community health needs. Federal, state, and local initiatives should prioritize sustained SSP funding to optimize their potential in addressing multiple public health crises. ( 2024;114(4):435-443. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307583).
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CONTRIBUTORS
S. N. Facente participated in writing and preparing the original draft of the article and in the investigation. J. L. Humphrey participated in the methodology, investigation, and visualization and in writing and preparing the original draft of the article. C. Akiba reviewed and edited the article. S. V. Patel, L. D. Wenger, H. Tookes, R. N. Bluthenthal, P. LaKosky, S. Prohaska, and T. Morris participated in data curation and reviewed and edited the article. A. H. Kral participated in conceptualization, methodology, and supervision and in writing and preparing the original draft of the article. B. H. Lambdin participated in conceptualization, methodology, investigation, and supervision and in writing and preparing the original draft of the article.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2024.307583