Vaccination barriers and opportunities at syringe services programs in the United States, June–August 2021—A cross-sectional survey. (1st August 2022) - Montgomery, Martha P.
Abstract: Background: Syringe services programs (SSPs) are an important venue for reaching people who inject drugs (PWID) to offer preventive services; however, not all SSPs offer vaccinations. We aimed to describe barriers and opportunities for SSPs to offer vaccinations. Methods: During June–August 2021, we conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of SSP providers in the United States. SSPs were recruited from national listservs using purposive sampling to ensure geographic diversity. The survey included questions about SSP characteristics, client demographics, existing vaccination resources, resource needs, and staff perspectives on client vaccination barriers. Statistical comparisons were made using Pearson's chi-square test. Results: In total, 105 SSPs from 34 states responded to the survey; 46 SSPs (43.8%) offered on-site vaccinations. SSPs without on-site vaccinations were more likely operated by community-based organizations (81.4% vs 30.4%, p < 0.001) in urban areas (71.4% vs 40.0%, p = 0.002) than SSPs offering on-site vaccinations. The most common staffing need was for personnel licensed to administer vaccines (74/98, 75.5%). Over half of SSPs reported vaccine supply, administration supplies, storage equipment, and systems to follow-up clients for multidose series as important resource needs. The most common resource need was for reminder/recall systems for vaccines with multidose series (75/92, 81.5%). Vaccine safety concerns (92/95, 96.8%) and competing priorities (92/96, 95.8%) were the most common staff-reported client barriers to vaccinations. Conclusions: Addressing missed opportunities for offering vaccinations to PWID who use SSPs will require increased numbers of on-site personnel licensed to administer vaccines and additional training, vaccination supplies, and storage and handling equipment. Highlights: This cross-sectional survey of 105 U.S. syringe services programs (SSPs) examines barriers to vaccination services. Increasing vaccinations at SSPs will require a comprehensive approach to increasing staffing, training, and resources. More staff authorized to administer vaccines are needed to increase vaccination services at SSPs. Large SSPs operated by urban, community-based organizations need the greatest support to increase vaccination services.