A prominent method for addressing the issue of disease transmission among intravenous drug users are needle exchange programs (also known as syringe exchange programs, syringe service programs or needle-syringe programs), where people who inject drugs (PWID) can access sterile needles, syringes, and other paraphernalia.[8][10] In addition to providing sterile devices used in drug injection, these programs often offer access to infectious disease testing, referrals for drug abuse or mental health treatment programs, and more.[8] The idea behind hard reduction approaches is to slow disease transmission, such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, and promote public health by reducing the practice of sharing used needles.