Equity and Evidence Gaps in Pharmacy Harm Reduction

Risks & contraindications

Evidence quality

Highlighted claims

• Reporting of sex, gender, race, and ethnicity across included studies was inconsistent. — Harm reduction and pharmacy practice: a scoping review of services for people who use drugs provided by pharmacy staff
• No peer-reviewed implementation literature exists on some potentially relevant pharmacy-led harm reduction services, including safer supply and off-label androgen use support. — Harm reduction and pharmacy practice: a scoping review of services for people who use drugs provided by pharmacy staff
• Only two included studies explicitly targeted equity-deserving populations: pregnant and postpartum people with opioid use disorder, and Indigenous communities. — Harm reduction and pharmacy practice: a scoping review of services for people who use drugs provided by pharmacy staff
• The literature focused heavily on opioid-related harms, while harms related to amphetamines, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and polysubstance use were underrepresented. — Harm reduction and pharmacy practice: a scoping review of services for people who use drugs provided by pharmacy staff
• Validated implementation and evaluation frameworks were rarely used in included studies, limiting comparability across the evidence base. — Harm reduction and pharmacy practice: a scoping review of services for people who use drugs provided by pharmacy staff
• Without meaningful involvement of affected communities, pharmacy harm reduction services may reproduce power imbalances and fail to reflect the needs of those they aim to support. — Harm reduction and pharmacy practice: a scoping review of services for people who use drugs provided by pharmacy staff