Background: Drug abuse causes social, psychological and somatic damage. Drugs can be administered in different ways. There are a couple of Needle Exchange Programs (NEPs) in Sweden which aim is to encourage injection drug users to quit their addiction and to prevent blood infection by providing clean and sterile needles and syringes in exchange for the patients unclean ones.

Aim: The aims of the present study are to illustrate health care professionals experience of NEPs and impact of these programs on people with intravenous drug abuse.

Method: This study has a qualitative design based on qualitative research interviews. Five healthcare professionals (one male and four female) from three NEPs (located in two different cities in Sweden) were interviewed.

Results: Results showed that the NEP had a strong positive impact on the patients both in physiological and psychological aspects. NEP is health promoting and motivating towards a life without drugs. The results implicate that health care professionals experience stigmatization of patients, which may take place in both community and other healthcare services, but not in the NEP.

Conclusions: NEPs have important functions in the healthcare of injection drug users.