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Emerging Evidence on Prescribed Safer Supply and Client Experiences: This evidence brief produced by the NSS-CoP summarizes existing and newly emerging evidence regarding prescribed safer supply. It covers who can access prescribed safer supply, evidence from research and evaluation studies, success factors for prescribed safer supply programs, and much more. Click here to read the full evidence brief!
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Prescribed Safer Supply: Frequently Asked Questions: This FAQ produced by the NSS-CoP answers some of the most frequently asked questions about prescribed safer supply programs. In it, you will find key messages, plenty of evidence-based answers, supporting research, and places to find more information. Click here to read the full FAQ!
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National Safer Supply Community of Practice Resource Library: Did you know we have a resource library with OVER 1,000 resources on safer supply? You can access it for FREE anytime. It features academic journal articles, grey literature, knowledge translation materials, clinical practice guidelines, and more!
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Talking Back to the City: A Manual for Winning – and Resisting – Local Drug Policy: This is a brand-new drug policy report authored by Pivot Legal Society and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). It calls on local governments to cease practices that jeopardize drug users’ lives. The 60-page report combines legal information with a framework for grassroots organizing against the drug war. Drawing on decades of PIVOT and VANDU’s collective experience, the report aims to “educate local governments about the tools they have (or don’t have) [and] build strength and solidarity with our allies around Turtle Island.” Read the full report here!
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RESEARCH PAPER OF THE MONTH
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Bardwell, G., et al. (2023). Safer opioid supply via a biometric dispensing machine: a qualitative study of barriers, facilitators and associated outcomes | Canadian Medical Association Journal
Highlights:
- 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who had been enrolled in the MySafe program for at least a month at 1 of 3 sites in Vancouver.
- Characteristics that facilitated use of the program included accessibility and choice, a lack of consequences for missing doses, non-witnessed dosing, judgment-free services and an ability to accumulate doses. Barriers included technological issues with the dispensing machine, dosing challenges and prescriptions being tied to individual machines.
- Participant-reported outcomes included reduced use of illicit drugs, decreased overdose risk, positive financial impacts and improvements in health and well-being. Participants perceived that the MySafe program reduced drug-related harms and promoted positive outcomes.
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Mayer, S., et al. (2023). Women's experiences in injectable opioid agonist treatment programs in Vancouver, Canada | International Journal of Drug Policy
Brothers, T. D., et al. (2023). Social and structural determinants of injection drug use-associated bacterial and fungal infections: a qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis | Addiction
Kamal, A., et al. (2023). Smoking identified as preferred mode of opioid safe supply use; investigating correlates of smoking preference through a 2021 cross-sectional study in British Columbia | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Adams, A., et al. (2023). Provider experiences with relaxing restrictions on take-home medications for opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative systematic review | International Journal of Drug Policy
Tricco, A. C., et al. (2023). Controlled-release hydromorphone and risk of infection in adults: a systematic review | Harm Reduction Journal
Socias, M. E., et al. (2023). Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on enrollment in medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Vancouver, Canada: an interrupted time series analysis | International Journal of Drug Policy
Mocanu, V., et al. (2023). Opioid Agonist Therapy Switching Among Individuals With Prescription-type Opioid Use Disorder: Secondary Analysis of A Pragmatic Randomized Trial | Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Butler, A., et al. (2023). Burden of opioid toxicity death in the fentanyl-dominant era for people who experience incarceration in Ontario, Canada, 2015–2020: a whole population retrospective cohort study | BMJ Open
Degenhardt, L., et al. (2023). Buprenorphine versus methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised and observational studies | The Lancet
Daowd, K., et al. (2023). Awareness, predictors and outcomes of drug alerts among people who access harm reduction services in British Columbia, Canada: findings from a 2021 cross-sectional survey | BMJ Open
Miller, D., et al. (2023). Introducing the Harm Reduction Collaboration Framework for Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change | Health Education & Behavior
O’Brien, D., et al. (2023). “Grasping at straws,” experiences of Canadian parents using involuntary stabilization for a youth's substance use | International Journal of Drug Policy
Poulter, H. L., et al. (2023). More than just ‘free heroin’: Caring whilst navigating constraint in the delivery of diamorphine assisted treatment | International Journal of Drug Policy
Barnett, M. L., et al. (2023). Racial Inequality in Receipt of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder | New England Journal of Medicine
Shiv Gazi, Y., et al. (2023). Public Transport Access to Drug Treatment Before and During COVID-19: Implications for the Opioid Epidemic | International Journal of Drug Policy
Harris, R. A., et al. (2023). Fatal Drug Overdose Among Middle-Aged Black Men: A Life Table Analysis | Addictive Behaviors
Lowenstein, M., et al. (2023). Come Try It Out. Get Your Foot in the Door:” Exploring Patient Perspectives on Low-Barrier Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder | Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Riley, F., et al. (2023). ‘This is hardcore’: a qualitative study exploring service users’ experiences of Heroin-Assisted Treatment (HAT) in Middlesbrough, England | Harm Reduction Journal
Moore, K. E., et al. (2023). The role of substance use treatment in reducing stigma after release from incarceration: A qualitative analysis | Health & Justice
Perlmutter, D., et al. (2023). “Another tool in the toolkit”—Perceptions, suggestions, and concerns of emergency service providers about the implementation of a supervised consumption site | International Journal of Drug Policy
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COMMUNITY UPDATES & EVENTS
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We encourage NSS-CoP members to email info@nss-aps.ca with submissions to include in our newsletter. Content examples include but are not limited to community-led projects, webinars and events, peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, and more!
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Health Justice and Social Action Nursing - Harm Reduction Nurses Association (HRNA): Register now for this exciting panel organized by HRNA happening on Monday, June 5th from12-2pm ET. The panel discussion will feature: Birgit Umaigba, Marliss Taylor, Natania Abebe, and Meaghan Thumath. Register now!
HIV self-tests are here! Now what? In August 2022, the Government of Canada announced new funding to purchase and distribute HIV self-test kits across the country. The kits are being distributed to individuals and communities most affected by HIV through a combination of community-based organizations and mail orders placed online. CATIE and REACH Nexus - Community Link are collaborating to distribute HIV self-test kits to organizations that support the health of people who use substances. We, alongside many other groups, are working together to engage interested community-based organizations and services, and ensure that they receive kits, training, logistical support and information resources. How your organization can participate: Organizations that would like to learn more or sign up are encouraged to contact Ayibatonye Oriakhi at aoriakhi@catie.ca. We can give you more information and ensure you have access to appropriate quantities, training and support, and receive information resources to distribute with your self-test kits. To learn more about HIV self-testing, visit the CATIE website.
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National and General News:
British Columbia:
Alberta:
Saskatchewan:
Manitoba:
Ontario:
Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut:
Québec (et en français s'il vous plaît!):
Atlantic Region (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador):
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