Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
To assess the awareness and predictors of seeing/hearing a drug alert in British Columbia (BC) and subsequent drug use behaviour after seeing/hearing an alert.
Findings/Key points
We found that drug alerts were mostly disseminated through communication with friends or peers and that most participants altered their drug use behaviour after seeing/hearing a drug alert. Therefore, drug alerts can play a role in reducing harms from substance use and more work is needed to reach diverse populations, such as younger people, those in differing geographical locations, and those who attend harm reduction sites more frequently.
Design/methods
Data from the 2021 BC harm reduction client survey (HRCS)—a cross-sectional self-reported survey administered at harm reduction sites throughout the province and completed by participants using the services.