Papers
This study is currently ongoing.
Our study team is currently hard at work evaluating the OPCs. The following are the papers that have been published. More will be posted and made available as they are published.
Published Papers
Journal of urban health
Community Acceptability of the First State-Authorized Overdose Prevention Center in the United States.
Shaw LC, Goldman JE, Lenox CA, Krieger MS, Marshall BDL, Macmadu A. J Urban Health. 2025 Apr 10. doi: 10.1007/s11524-025-00978-9. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40208386
This study assessed neighborhood support for the forthcoming OPC and explored whether specific factors influenced people’s opinions, such as age or prior awareness of OPCs and found that the majority of people (74%) living and working near the first state-authorized OPC in the US supported its opening.
Read the summary.
Read the press release.
Journal of SUBSTANCE USE AND ADDICTION TREATMENT
“A safe place to use”: People who use drugs’ perceptions and preferences prior to the implementation of Rhode Island’s first overdose prevention center
Dunham K, Macon EC, Perry A, Tan M, Marshall BDL, Collins AB. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2025 Mar 21;173:209679. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2025.209679. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40122346.
The study conducted in-depth qualitative interviews from December 2023 to March 2024 with 25 people who use drugs. Thematic analysis explored OPC implementation considerations, with a focus on perceived social and structural barriers and facilitators for use. Overall, participants were aware of plans to open an OPC locally and were largely supportive and participants provided important insights into accessibility and uptake of OPC services.