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Mitigating the heroin crisis in Baltimore, MD, USA: a cost-benefit analysis of a hypothetical supervised injection facility

Overview of attention for article published in Harm Reduction Journal, May 2017
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Among the highest-scoring outputs from this source (#11 of 1,116)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (99th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (99th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
42 news outlets
blogs
4 blogs
twitter
49 X users
facebook
1 Facebook page
googleplus
1 Google+ user

Citations

dimensions_citation
50 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
209 Mendeley
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Title
Mitigating the heroin crisis in Baltimore, MD, USA: a cost-benefit analysis of a hypothetical supervised injection facility
Published in
Harm Reduction Journal, May 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12954-017-0153-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Amos Irwin, Ehsan Jozaghi, Brian W. Weir, Sean T. Allen, Andrew Lindsay, Susan G. Sherman

Abstract

In Baltimore, MD, as in many cities throughout the USA, overdose rates are on the rise due to both the increase of prescription opioid abuse and that of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in the drug market. Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) are a widely implemented public health intervention throughout the world, with 97 existing in 11 countries worldwide. Research has documented the public health, social, and economic benefits of SIFs, yet none exist in the USA. The purpose of this study is to model the health and financial costs and benefits of a hypothetical SIF in Baltimore. We estimate the benefits by utilizing local health data and data on the impact of existing SIFs in models for six outcomes: prevented human immunodeficiency virus transmission, Hepatitis C virus transmission, skin and soft-tissue infection, overdose mortality, and overdose-related medical care and increased medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence. We predict that for an annual cost of $1.8 million, a single SIF would generate $7.8 million in savings, preventing 3.7 HIV infections, 21 Hepatitis C infections, 374 days in the hospital for skin and soft-tissue infection, 5.9 overdose deaths, 108 overdose-related ambulance calls, 78 emergency room visits, and 27 hospitalizations, while bringing 121 additional people into treatment. We conclude that a SIF would be both extremely cost-effective and a significant public health and economic benefit to Baltimore City.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 49 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 209 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 209 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 42 20%
Researcher 30 14%
Student > Bachelor 21 10%
Student > Doctoral Student 15 7%
Student > Ph. D. Student 13 6%
Other 30 14%
Unknown 58 28%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 43 21%
Nursing and Health Professions 29 14%
Social Sciences 28 13%
Psychology 10 5%
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 7 3%
Other 28 13%
Unknown 64 31%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 388. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 February 2024.
All research outputs
#78,828
of 25,376,589 outputs
Outputs from Harm Reduction Journal
#11
of 1,116 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#1,830
of 301,381 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Harm Reduction Journal
#1
of 26 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,376,589 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,116 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 28.8. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 301,381 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 26 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.