“Good Samaritan” laws aim to protect people who witness, act on or experience a substance-use-related overdose from being arrested or criminally charged. This type of legislation has been implemented across Canada and the United States as a response to the increase in fatal drug poisonings, but it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Saskatchewan Infectious Disease Care Network (SIDCN) is a non-profit organization created and directed by HIV and hepatitis C physician specialists. In addition to providing HIV and hepatitis C patient care and research projects, SIDCN administered a four-year continuing medical education program known as the HIV/HCV Primary Care Capacity Improvement Project. This project was funded using two consecutive two-year harm reduction fund grants from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
At PASAN, we serve people with lived and living experience of incarceration and drug use. Many of our clients have been diagnosed with hepatitis C during their intake at a correctional institution. M
The development of COVID-19 vaccines has allowed some people to return to “normal life”. But even now, not everyone can access these vaccines, particularly people living in low-income countries.
People who are incarcerated (PWAI) are identified as a priority population for hepatitis C care, as they are 40 times more likely to be exposed to the virus than Canada’s general population.
For more than a decade, the program’s two-pronged community development and social marketing strategy had demonstrated success in reaching these diverse communities across Ontario. However, in early 2020, we were forced back to the drawing board.
