Drug users' experiences of witnessing overdoses: what do they know and what do they need to know?

The study investigated overdose attitudes and experiences among 155 attenders at an out-patient drug clinic in south London. Almost half the sample (46.8%) had ever overdosed while 82.6% had witnessed overdoses, of whom 43 had witnessed overdose fatalities. However, this does not appear to have been a consequence of inaction, with most users reporting that they had attempted to resuscitate or assist the victim in a number of ways. Most participants also reported a reasonable awareness of the appropriate actions to take, were not deterred by fear of police sanction and managing reported that they would be willing to intervene in the future. Over a third were keen to receive training on managing overdose and that the majority would be willing to keep naloxone at home. This evidence supports previous research suggesting that addicts may be a valuable resource in strategies for reducing overdose fatalities through training and the dissemination of new drug technologies such as naloxone.