The multiple makings of a supervised consumption service in a hospital setting

Original research
by
Long, Cathy et al

Release Date

2023

Geography

Canada

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

No

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

No

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

We explored the pre-implementation stage of a supervised consumption services (SCS), to examine how an SCS is made and made differently in relation to the material-discursive context of the hospital.

Findings/Key points

While most participants indicated they would support the establishment of an SCS at the hospital, multiple enactments of an SCS emerged. An SCS was enacted: as a means to reduce drug-related risks for all people who use drugs, as an opportunity to intervene on patients’ drug use, as a means to centralize drug use, and as a transformative intervention for the hospital. In our findings, harm reduction, abstinence, security, and risk mitigation goals existed closely together, yielding overlaying realities.

Design/methods

We conducted 11 focus groups with 83 staff and clinicians at an inner-city hospital in Toronto, Canada

Keywords

SCS/OPS
Hospitals