Introduction: Safe injection rooms are facilities where drug users can inject pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of trained health professionals. Their purpose is to promote safe injecting behaviour and reduce the transmission of blood-borne diseases. Users of safe injection rooms are provided with sterile injection equipment, first aid in case of an overdose, access to basic health care, and treatment referrals. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis was to demonstrate the importance of safe injection rooms and define the role of healthcare professionals present there by conducting a literature review. Methods: We employed the descriptive method of research by systematically reviewing the available Slovenian and English literature on the subject of safe injection rooms. EBSCOhost was used to search the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases for articles. We also used the COBIB.SI bibliographic database. 60 articles were included in the final analysis. Results: Safe injection room programmes reduce the transmission of blood-borne diseases, the number of overdose deaths, skin and soft tissue infections, as well as the number of emergency medical interventions and hospitalizations. At the same time, safe injection rooms are cost-effective. Nurses work in safe injection rooms provide education on health and harm-reduction, respond to overdoses, provide basic health care, offer advice, and give referrals for additional health and social services, particularly treatment for drug addiction. Discussion and conclusion: Research findings confirm the health, social, and economic benefits of safe injection rooms. The use of safe injection rooms is associated with the adoption of safer injecting behaviours and safe syringe removal. In spite of the overwhelming amount of evidence in support of safe injection rooms and their impact on reducing individual and population risks associated with drug injection, and in spite of years of efforts by in this area, not a single safe injection room has ever been opened in Slovenia. There is a real need for such a programme as safe injection rooms are able to reach the most marginalized and at-risk populations and provide them with help. Safe injection rooms require the employment of nurses with higher education who, in addition to their nursing expertise, also possess social skills and have a knowledge of drugs and addiction.
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