(Re)situating expertise in community-based overdose response: Insights from an ethnographic study of overdose prevention sites (OPS) in Vancouver, Canada

Original research
par
Olding, Michelle et al

Date de publication

2023

Géographie

Canada

Langue de la ressource

English

Texte disponible en version intégrale

Non

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Non

Évalué par des pairs

Yes

L’objectif

This study draws on 20 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Vancouver, BC (July 2018 to March 2020), to explore how OPS responders who are PWUD developed and enacted expertise in overdose response.

Constatations/points à retenir

We found that OPS responders’ expertise was grounded in experiential knowledge acquired through their positionality as PWUD and members of a broader community of activists engaged in mutual aid. Responders became skilled in overdose response through frequent practice and drew on their experiential and embodied knowledge of overdose to provide care that was both technically proficient and responsive to the broader needs of PWUD (e.g. protection from criminalization and stigmatizing treatment).

La conception ou méthodologie de recherche

Ethnographic fieldwork focused on four OPS located in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) and Downtown South neighbourhoods. Methods included 100 hours of observation in the sites and surrounding areas, three site-specific focus groups with OPS responders (n=20), and semi-structured interviews with OPS responders (n=14) and service users (n=23)

Mots clés

About PWUD
SCS/OPS
Overdose