Digital Commons Network^™

The Need For Sharps Boxes To Be Offered In The Hospital Setting For People Who Use Substances: Removing Sharps Boxes Puts All Of Us At Risk., Cheryl Forchuk, Michael Silverman, Abraham Rudnick, Jonathan Serrato, Brenna Schmitt, Leanne Scott

Nursing Publications

INTRODUCTION: Substance use can occur in the hospital setting among people with substance use disorder, including intravenous use. However, the provision of sharps boxes is not typically offered in Canadian hospitals. This study set out to explore the current issues due to the lack of harm reduction in the hospital setting.

METHOD: Thirty-one health care professionals participated in virtual one-to-one interviews and focus groups regarding harm reduction in hospital. The issue of sharps box removal was highlighted as a concern. A secondary ethnographic thematic analysis explored this theme in more detail. A scoping review of the literature observed additional considerations. …

Learning From Lived Experience: Substance Use Policies, Emergency Shelters, And Harm Reduction In London, On, Jesse Cram, Dena Salehipour

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Since 2018, the number of overdoses reported by London housing and emergency shelter agencies to the city of London has increased by 790%.These agencies currently have inconsistent overdose response policies that lack research-based support, and want to establish comprehensive best practices that support those involved at all levels.

Through a community based course, we initially collected and analyzed survey data from managers and staff from various London housing and emergency shelter agencies with the aim of understanding the limitations of the current approaches to the opioid crisis. Wanting to expand on this, our current project focuses on those who are …

The Discursive Construction Of Substance Use And Harm Reduction In Canadian Health Policy, Sibel Kusdemir

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Harm reduction as a philosophy has been widely recognized by healthcare professionals in Canada, yet the topic remains controversial in both political and public discourses. Understanding these discourses will allow health care providers to better respond to political and public concerns, as well as ensuring that services are aligned well with public health needs. This study explored the discursive use of the term “harm reduction” in Canadian health care and nursing policy documents’ contexts by using a Foucauldian framework and Bacchi’s ‘what’s the problem represented to be?’ approach. I propose three discursive themes: self-responsible citizen, evidenced-based practice, and what nurses …

Interpersonal Polyvictimization: Addressing The Care Planning Needs Of Traumatized Children And Youth, Shannon L. Stewart Dr., Natalia Lapshina, Valbona Semovski

Education Publications

Background: Exposure to maltreatment has a detrimental impact on both physical and mental health. However, research on the relationship between polyvictimization and care planning needs is scarce.

Objectives: This study investigated the associations between interpersonal polyvictimization and care planning needs for children and youth, controlling for sex and age differences.

Participants and Settings: The sample included 18,701 children and youth (M_age = 12.33, SD_age = 3.53) between 4 and 18 years. Participants were recruited from over 58 mental health agencies, facilities, and schools in Ontario, Canada between November 2012 and February 2020.

Methods: Multivariate binary logistic …

Exploring Harm Reduction Among Canadian Veterans Experiencing Homelessness, Olivia Marsella

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

BACKGROUND: The use of substances is substantially higher among people experiencing homelessness than the general population (Podymow, Turnbull, Coyle, Yetisir, & Wells, 2006). In Canada, veteran homelessness is an increasing concern and it is estimated that there are 2,950 veterans experiencing homelessness (Gaetz et al., 2016). Furthermore, veterans often use substances, particularly alcohol, to cope with the transition from the military to civilian life (Ray & Forchuk, 2011). A strategy that has been shown to reduce the negative harms of substance use and facilitate housing stability is harm reduction (MacNeil & Pauly, 2010). Exploring how veterans who have experienced homelessness …

An Examination Of Risk Factors For Adolescent Engagement In Directly And Indirectly Self-Injurious Behaviours, Janell A. Klassen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research identifying similar and dissimilar risk factors for directly and indirectly self-injurious behaviours among adolescents is scarce. Due to the wide range of physical and mental health difficulties that may result from self-injurious behaviours, understanding differential risks is important to support at-risk adolescents. To address this gap in the literature, 541 clinically referred children and youth (ages 11-18 years old) were assessed using the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Assessment (ChYMH) and Adolescent Supplement. Logistic regression analyses revealed that older adolescents were at an increased risk for both direct and indirect self-injury. Moreover, adolescents who experienced high levels of …

Relationships Between Clients Using Substances And Hospital-Based Perinatal Nurses: A Critical Feminist Study, Angela Wilson

Digitized Theses

Pregnant women who use illicit substances may avoid routine perinatal care as a result of the stigmatic attitudes of care providers (Irwin, 1995; Kearney, 1995; Levine, 2001). This is detrimental as the time period around the birth of a child may be a time when women who use illicit substances may be motivated to change (Tait, 2000). Client-nurse relationships have been shown to be health promoting (Hartrick & Varcoe, 2007), therefore it is important for vulnerable women to engage in relationships with perinatal nurses. There is little empirical work looking at the relationships between clients who use substances and perinatal …