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Take five: Overdose prevention
Shannon Murray
Master of Library and Information Studies Student
UBC iSchool
Take five is a series that highlights items in the Downtown Eastside Research Access Portal (DTES RAP) collection, and sometimes beyond, about a particular topic. We hope this introduction provides a good starting point for your research. If you need any help finding items in the collection, please contact community engagement librarian Nick Ubels at nick.ubels@ubc.ca
Naloxone anti-overdose kit. Image by Jeff Anderson. Used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license.
Here is a list of five items from the DTES RAP about overdose prevention. Each item is unique in its focus but are all important when thinking about harm reduction. I’ve provided short summaries of each item below:
1. SisterSpace: three month-developmental evaluation, August 2017 (2017)
SisterSpace is Canada’s first women-only overdose prevention site. As noted in this CBC article, women’s-only sites can better meet the unique health needs of women within the community and may foster a safer, more supportive environment. Atira, the organization running SisterSpace, did a three-month evaluation of the program when it initially opened in 2017. This evaluation offers insights into the program, the services they offer, and how such a space can benefit the community. Click here to read the report and learn more about SisterSpace.
2. Housing and overdose: An opportunity for the scale-up of overdose prevention (2017)
The connection between unstable housing and overdose-related harm has been consistently increasing in recent years. The authors of this study explore overdose prevention interventions and suggest that integrating supervised consumption sites into low-income housing facilities (like Single Room Occupancies) and shelters could reduce overdoses by offering accessible harm reduction services on-site. Learn more about housing-based overdose prevention sites on the DTES RAP.
3.Back to the core: A network approach to bolster harm reduction among persons who inject drugs (2018)
This Vancouver-based study looks at harm reduction networks in the DTES. The authors found that because of strong community connections within the DTES, a network of individuals exist that contribute to the spread of harm-reduction information. This peer-network draws on established relationships to share intervention services through word of mouth. Click here to take a closer look at the study and read about the importance of community connections.
4. The role of medical students’ training and community placement as a tool to enhance medical education in Canada (2018)
The authors of this study argue that medical schools are not providing future doctors with adequate training and education in overdose prevention, harm reduction, and addiction. As a response to this, they suggest that medical students should receive increased training through community placements, which can reduce the stigma surrounding addiction and increase the overall health and safety of people who use drugs. Read more about the importance of harm reduction training in medical school.
5. Peer worker involvement in low-threshold supervised consumption facilities in the context of an overdose epidemic in Vancouver, Canada (2019)
Overdose prevention sites (OPS) in Vancouver are typically staffed by peer workers. This study explores the role of peer workers and how peer staffing models are key to creating welcoming and inclusive OPS.. This model can decrease overdose-related harm. To learn more about the importance of peer workers click here.
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Do you have questions or feedback about this article? Do you have an idea for the news section or suggestion for the collection? Please reach out to community engagement librarian Nick Ubels at nick.ubels@ubc.ca.
