Somerville Supervised Consumption Site: Needs Assessment and Feasibility Report

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Alexandra B. Collins, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health; Brandon D.L. Marshall, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health; People, Place & Health Collective:; Juliet Flam-Ross, BA, Boston Medical Center; Sarah Casey, BA, ONESTOP Harm Reduction Center; Tj Thompson, Material Aid and Advocacy Program; Stephen Kelley, Material Aid and Advocacy Program; Cassie Hurd, BA, Material Aid and Advocacy Program; Dhruv Gaur, BA, Brown University School of Public Health; Abdullah Shihipar, MPH, Brown University School of Public Health; Brandon D.L. Marshall, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Residual Questions from Town Hall 6_10_2021.pdf	application/pdf	90.5 KB	06/19/2021 03:01:AM
Resource Compendium.pdf	application/pdf	193 KB	06/19/2021 02:58:AM
Somerville One Pager.pdf	application/pdf	280.3 KB	06/19/2021 02:58:AM
Somerville SCS Report_FINAL_2021.pdf	application/pdf	5.7 MB	06/19/2021 02:58:AM

Project Citation:

Collins, PhD, Alexandra B., Marshall, PhD, Brandon D.L., People, Place & Health Collective:, Flam-Ross, BA, Juliet , Casey, BA, Sarah, Thompson, Tj, … Marshall, PhD, Brandon D.L. Somerville Supervised Consumption Site: Needs Assessment and Feasibility Report. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-06-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/E143301V1

Project Description

Summary: The purpose of this needs assessment and feasibility study was to determine the conditions under which a Safe Consumption Site (SCS) would be used by people who use drugs; the feasibility of implementing an SCS in the City of Somerville, Massachusetts; and to identify concerns, challenges, and barriers. This community-engaged needs assessment and feasibility study sought to document the perspectives of people who use drugs and community members on establishing an SCS in Somerville, Massachusetts. Needs assessments from similar-sized communities in Canada were reviewed in the development of survey questions for this study [74–76], as well as the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use SCS operational guidance document [77]. All information obtained was anonymous and recorded by the investigators in such a manner that the identity of participants cannot be readily ascertained directly or through identifiers linked to the participant. As such, this work was exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. This assessment was multi-phased. Phase one included analyses of existing data and primary data collection, which was completed in April 2021. In phase two, public feedback was sought through a virtual community meeting held on June 10th, 2021. The final report with recommendations was submitted to the City of Somerville’s Department of Health and Human Services in June 2021, during phase three.

The following primary data collection methods were used in this assessment:

1) A survey conducted with people who use drugs
2) An online community survey of Somerville residents
3) Focus groups conducted with people who use drugs

Of note, all surveys were conducted in 2021 for this needs assessment. However, focus groups with people who use drugs were conducted in January 2020. As these focus groups were undertaken to understand the perspectives of people who use drugs in relation to an SCS in Somerville, the study team also conducted an analysis of these existing data. In addition to these primary sources of data, secondary existing data sources on overdose rates, opioid-related deaths, etc. were also analyzed.

Funding Sources: City of Somerville, Department of Health and Human Services.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Safe Consumption Site (SCS); Supervised Consumption Site (SCS); Supervised Injection; Overdose prevention

Geographic Coverage: Somerville, Massachusetts, United States of America

Time Period(s): 1/1/2020 – 6/10/2021 (2020-2021)

Collection Date(s): 1/1/2020 – 10/6/2021 (2020-2021)

Universe:

Survey with people who use drugs: Participants were eligible to complete the survey if they self-identified as a person who uses drugs, were at least 18 years of age, and were able to provide verbal consent.self-identified as a person who uses drugs. Somerville community survey: Participants were eligible to complete the survey if they lived in Somerville and were 16 years of age or older.

Data Type(s): administrative records data; aggregate data; audio: sound data; event/transaction data; observational data; other; survey data; text

Methodology

Response Rate: Survey with people who use drugs: 47 Participants. Community survey: 615 Participants. Focus groups conducted with people who use drugs: 17 Participants.

Data Source: The following primary data collection methods were used in this assessment:1) A survey conducted with people who use drugs 2) An online community survey of Somerville residents 3) Focus groups conducted with people who use drugs. In addition to these primary sources of data, secondary existing data sources on overdose rates, opioid-related deaths, etc. were also analyzed. In order to appropriately contextualize this report to the overdose crisis in Somerville, data was collected from state and local agencies monitoring the overdose crisis. Counts of overdose deaths used in this report were originally collected and reported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health [5]. Data on police and fire department calls were acquired from SomerStat, a statistical department in the Mayor's Office of Innovation andAnalytics in Somerville [7].To assess accessibility of the proposed locations, we obtained data on Somerville’s road network from theMassachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) [78], and on Somerville’s public transit routes and schedules from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)’s general transit feed specification [79].Finally, data on quality of life calls to the Somerville Police Department where hypodermic needles were foundin public for the 2020 calendar year were obtained from the City of Somerville Data Catalog [80]. The locationsof these incidents were mapped in ArcGIS Pro 2.7.3 to create a kernel density map that identifies locations withinSomerville where these incidents were more common

Collection Mode(s): face-to-face interview; on-site questionnaire; paper and pencil interview (PAPI); web-based survey

Scales: The survey instrument was adapted from the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use SCS operational guidance document.

Unit(s) of Observation: Individuals. demographic information; substance use patterns and practices; overdose experiences; SCS location and operational preferences; facilitators and barriers to using an SCS; and SCS programmatic and service needs; community members’ perceptions and concerns of an SCS, recommended location of an SCS in Somerville, and implementation considerations. The survey also collected participants’ demographics and suggestions for addressing concerns or questions related to an SCS in Somerville; focus group focused on acceptability, feasibility, and implementation considerations of SCS

Geographic Unit: City

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