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NSS-CoP Resource Library: Did you know we have a resource library with OVER 900 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!
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.
#DecrimInBC – Are you protected? New Rights Card! Since the publication of PIVOT’s 2020 report, Act Now! Decriminalizing Drugs in Vancouver, numerous governments have followed PIVOT Legal Society's recommendation to request a federal exemption to decriminalize drug possession. The Province of BC is the first to receive its exemption. Its new policy, a 3-year pilot project, takes effect this month on January 31, 2023. To ensure people in BC know when they are and are not protected by BC’s decriminalization policy, PIVOT Legal Society created a printable Know Your Rights Card with their comrades at the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). If you’re a person who uses drugs (or a drug user-led group), feel free to contact PIVOT for some hard copy cards.
CATIE Programming Connection - Victoria SAFER Initiative: The Victoria SAFER Initiative (SAFER) provides pharmaceutical alternatives to the unregulated drug supply to prevent and reduce the incidence of ‘overdose’/drug poisoning. SAFER is a flexible, community-based model of safe supply that is grounded in harm reduction policy and practice and utilizes a social justice lens. The SAFER program is run by a multidisciplinary staff team (e.g., support workers, systems navigators, nurses, physicians) and provides support and referrals to other community services. The program offers safe supply (e.g., opioids, stimulants) in a variety of formats (e.g., tablets, patches, liquid). This programming connection publication gives an overview of the SAFER program.
Connecting to Culture - First Nations Health Authority: The 'Connecting to Culture' video series includes three videos. The videos are teaching tools intended to support discussions in First Nations communities about harm reduction, substance use and stigma. The series uses an Indigenous lens and includes the perspectives of Elders, peers, and youth.
National Drug Alert System - Accidental Drug Poisoning Crisis Community of Practice: Using a crowdsourcing approach, the ADPC-CoP works with harm reduction services and drug-checking services from across the country to source accurate and up-to-date information regarding contaminated drug supply. This map-based dashboard displays contaminated drug supply alerts from their partner organizations. Please click on the User Guide at the bottom of the dashboard for more information on how to use the map.
Strengthening Public Health Systems in Canada: The Canadian Public Health Association has launched an advocacy campaign calling for governments across Canada to strengthen the foundations of public health systems, making them cohesive, comprehensive and accountable. In 2023, CPHA will ask federal Parliamentarians and officials to address the structure of public health systems as a highest-priority issue. Subsequently, we will address our campaign to provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments as well. Learn more about the campaign here.
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RESEARCH PAPER OF THE MONTH
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Morris, H., et al. (2023). Public support for safer supply programs: analysis of a cross-sectional survey of Canadians in two provinces | Canadian Journal of Public Health
Highlights:
- The majority of respondents (Alberta: 63.5% and Saskatchewan: 56.3%) supported safer supply programs that replace illegal street drugs with pharmaceutical alternatives for those unable to stop using.
- Predicted probabilities show a greater probability of support for safer supply among those with higher education and those leaning left on the political spectrum.
- A majority of Canadians from Alberta and Saskatchewan supported provincial government efforts to expand safer supply, suggesting a lack of public support is not the main barrier to implementation.
- Efforts at mobilizing this public opinion are needed to scale up and facilitate evaluation of this drug poisoning response.
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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, peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, government publications, etc.
- Kilmer, B., et al. (2023). Clarifying ‘safer supply’ to enrich policy discussions | Addiction
- Vogel, M., et al. (2023). Safety and feasibility of intranasal heroin-assisted treatment: 4-week preliminary findings from a Swiss multicentre observational study | Harm Reduction Journal
- del Pozo, B., et al. (2023). Buprenorphine involvement in opioid overdose deaths: A retrospective analysis of postmortem toxicology in Marion County, Indiana, 2015-2021 | Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
- Cuperfain, A. B., et al. (2023). Extended-release monthly buprenorphine injection | Canadian Medical Association Journal
- Bratberg, J. P., et al. (2023). Support, don’t punish: Drug decriminalization is harm reduction | Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
- Torres-Leguizamon, M., et al. (2023). Remote harm reduction services are key solutions to reduce the impact of COVID-19-like crises on people who use drugs: evidence from two independent structures in France and in the USA | Harm Reduction Journal
- Fink, D. S., et al. (2023). Understanding the differential effect of local socioeconomic conditions on the relation between prescription opioid supply and drug overdose deaths in US counties | Addiction
- Barenie, R. E., et al. (2023). Faculty, staff, and student perceptions of substance use disorder stigma in health profession training programs: a quantitative study | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- Amini, Z., et al. (2023). Investigating the effect of zinc supplementation on probability of relapse and mental health in patients with opioid use disorder undergoing methadone maintenance treatment | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- Siddiqui, H., et al. (2023). Belief that addiction is a discrete category is a stronger correlate with stigma than the belief that addiction is biologically based | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- McGee, M., et al. (2023). The Impact of Suboxone’s Market Exclusivity on Cost of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment | Applied Health Economics and Health Policy
- Volpe, I., et al. (2023). ‘We don’t live in a harm reduction world, we live in a prohibition world’: tensions arising in the design of drug alerts | Harm Reduction Journal
- Schneider, K. E., et al. (2023). Increased solitary drug use during COVID-19: An unintended consequence of social distancing | International Journal of Drug Policy
- Neale, J., et al. (2023). Qualitative study of patients’ decisions to initiate injectable depot buprenorphine for opioid use disorder: the role of information and other factors | Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
- Bommersbach, T., et al. (2023). Multidimensional assessment of access to medications for opioid use disorder across urban and rural communities: A scoping review | International Journal of Drug Policy
- Harris, M., et al. (2023). Association of sex work and social-structural factors with non-fatal overdose among women who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada | International Journal of Drug Policy
- Reed, M. K., et al. (2023). Sorting through life: evaluating patient-important measures of success in a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment program | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- Fleury, M.-J., et al. (2023). Profiles of quality of outpatient care use, associated sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and adverse outcomes among patients with substance-related disorders | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- Banks, D. E., et al. (2023). Identifying drivers of increasing opioid overdose deaths among black individuals: a qualitative model drawing on experience of peers and community health workers | Harm Reduction Journal
- Russolillo, A., et al. (2023). Attitudes towards people who use substances: a survey of mental health clinicians from an urban hospital in British Columbia | Harm Reduction Journal
- Williams, L. D., et al. (2023). Community-, Network-, and Individual-level Predictors of Uptake of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder among Young People who Inject Drugs and Their Networks: A Multilevel Analysis | Drug and Alcohol Dependence
- Gannon, K., et al. (2023). “Knowing or not knowing”: Living as harm reductionists in Twelve Step recovery | Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment
- Crépault, J-F., et al. (2023). What is a public health approach to substance use? A qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis | International Journal of Drug Policy
- Austin, E. J., et al. (2023). Barriers to engaging people who use drugs in harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study of syringe services program perspectives | International Journal of Drug Policy
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COMMUNITY UPDATES & EVENTS
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Webinar Series on Anti-Black Racism and Public Health - National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health: Anti-Black racism is a specific form of racism, rooted in the colonial history and practice of enslavement, that continues to impact the lives of Black people, regardless of whether they have a specific lineage to the enslaved in Canada, or if they are recent comers to Canada. Policies and practices rooted in Canadian institutions such as, health care, education, and justice mirror and reinforce beliefs, attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping and/or discrimination towards people of African descent and lead to a lack of equitable access, opportunities, and outcomes for Black people. Recognizing the need for specialized public health education and action in this area, the NCCDH is partnering with the Black Health Education Collaborative, a community of scholars and practitioners committed to improving Black health through education and research. This partnership will offer the Canadian public health community an important capacity building opportunity in the form of a three-part interactive webinar series. In this series, participants will explore how anti-Black racism impacts health and identify concrete opportunities for public health action. Learn more about the series here!
Public Health 2023 - Canadian Public Health Association: Public Health 2023 is the national conference where public health professionals, researchers, policy-makers, academics, students and trainees come together to strengthen efforts to improve health and well-being, to share the latest research and information, to promote best practices and to advocate for public health issues and policies grounded in research. CPHA will embrace technology and present sessions June 20th to 22nd from 11am to 4:30pm EDT daily. Find more information and important dates here!
5th Annual British Columbia Substance Use Conference: The British Columbia Centre on Substance Use conference planning committee is excited to announce that the 5th annual BC Substance Use Conference will be held April 20th to 22nd, 2023. To enable provincial-wide participation, BCCSU will be hosting a blended conference this year, with both virtual and in-person options for attendance. The in-person program will be held at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. The conference theme this year is The Challenge of Change. Abstract submissions are now open - the deadline is February 28th! Registration information coming soon - find more information here!
META:PHI Webinar Series 2023: Check out and register for the META:PHI webinar series line up for 2023. META:PHI hosts a virtual presentation on the second Wednesday of each month from 7:00pm to 8:30pm EST. These sessions are intended for service providers who work with people who use substances. All sessions are free.
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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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