Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
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.
Findings/Key points
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).
Design/methods
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)
