Objective
One of the major issues facing those providing services to drug users (current or ex-) is the community backlash when such services are proposed within a local community. This can often have very serious effects on the service and has led to the closure of some much-needed drug treatment services. This study sought to: a) investigate the impact on the local community of the Randomised Injectable Opioids Treatment Trial (RIOTT), a trial into the effectiveness and efficacy of the provision of injectable opioids versus conventional oral methadone; and b) document the expectations, fears and experiences of the local community.
Methods
The research was conducted between July 2005 and October 2007. Methods involved: pre-trial key informant interviews; two year follow-up key informant interviews; analysis of Metropolitan Police crime statistics and; analysis of data from the records of fortnightly Camberwell Street Population Forum (CSPF) meetings.
Results
The most common concern raised by key informants was that the RIOTT would have a ‘honey-pot effect’ (an increase in the number of drug users coming to the area). At follow up, no key informants reported either a positive or a negative effect attributable to the trial. There were no significant changes in monthly or average annual crime levels. No RIOTT participants were subsequently noted in CSPF records; all RIOTT participants dropped off CSPF records while enrolled in RIOTT and RIOTT participants spent an average of 20 weeks less on the CSPF register than the general street population.
Conclusions
Teasing out the effects of a small intervention on a community influenced by so many different factors is necessarily difficult. The background picture within Camberwell was one of overall stability. Findings suggest a treatment effect for RIOTT participants over their street drinking peers, even when considering the possible confounding effects of the street drinking initiative.