Public Health Commons^™

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 …

Opioid Use And Harm Reduction, Elise Bourassa, David Lee, Jason Rogers, Christian Silverthorne

Thinking Matters Symposium

Calls for various harm reduction approaches to the opioid epidemic are increasing in activist communities (Chapkis, 2020; Kennedy-Hendricks et al., 2019; Sederer & Marino, 2018). Given that harm reduction approaches, if implemented, will be provided by people in various helping professions, the current study investigates the relationship between choice of human service-focused college major and level of support for harm reduction interventions for people who use opioid drugs. A quantitative survey that aims to measure knowledge and perceptions of harm reduction strategies has been disseminated to students in social work, counseling, public health and nursing departments at the University of …

Safe Consumption Facilities As Harm Reduction, Christina Jäderholm, Dana Crossby, Rachel Greim, Chelsea Peterson, Dawn Richardson

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Overview/Issue

Substance use disorder (SUD) is one of the largest public health challenges in Oregon, with approximately 1-in-10 Oregonians living with SUD and some experiencing overdose annually. Safe Consumption Facilities (SCF) have been shown to facilitate entry into treatment programs and prevent fatal overdoses and needle sharing, but have not yet been implemented.

Challenges

SCFs have succeeded in Canada and Europe; yet several barriers exist to implementation in the U.S. The most common challenges include: low public support and a lack of understanding regarding SUD and harm reduction strategies; limited funding and research in the United States; and the complexities …