ArticleHarm reduction journal2025
Effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of naloxone in carceral settings: a scoping review.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOpioid dependence is highly prevalent within incarcerated populations, with one-fifth of all drug overdose deaths occurring among formerly incarcerated individuals. Opioid antagonists are promising in reversing overdoses, with naloxone widely recognised as a rapid and safe treatment for opioid toxicity. While community-based evidence demonstrates the efficacy of naloxone in reducing overdose deaths, its implementation in carceral settings is neither standardised nor embedded.
objectiveThis scoping review aims to systematically assess the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of naloxone interventions in prisons and other detention settings globally, with the explicit goal of identifying research gaps and generating evidence to inform global prison policy, practice and future implementation research.
methodsA scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's framework. Literature searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase for English-language records published between 2000 and 2025, in line with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Data were analysed using narrative synthesis as informed by Popay et al.
resultsOf the 1764 records initially identified, 24 records met the inclusion criteria. Three themes and associated sub-themes were identified. They were (a) current provision (naloxone distribution and benefits; Take-Home Naloxone programmes on community release; naloxone (intranasal) within carceral settings; rollout of naloxone vending machines), (b) population satisfaction (acceptability and feasibility; implementation readiness) and (c) organisational factors (barriers and challenges; facilitators and suggestions).
conclusionNaloxone provision in carceral settings is acceptable, feasible, and effective in preventing opioid overdoses during incarceration and after release. Strong support exists among prisoners and staff, yet significant gaps remain, particularly regarding use in vulnerable populations such as women, younger individuals, and immigration detainees. Integrating naloxone into prison health systems, alongside staff training and peer engagement, is a critical step in reducing preventable overdose deaths and enhancing continuity of care post-release.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.