Tag: Harm reduction | Page 3

Three important things to know about hepatitis C and HIV among people who inject drugs

April 25, 2023 • By Camille Arkell

In Canada, recent estimates show that people who inject drugs continue to be disproportionately affected by high rates of hepatitis C and HIV. They are also less likely to be tested, connected to care or receive treatment. To prevent hepatitis C and HIV, as well as improve outcomes for people who inject drugs, it is important to gain a better understanding of how changes in the drug supply and related trends impact vulnerability to these infections and how we can improve supports. To identify where these additional supports are most needed, the following three important points can help us to...

Making supervised consumption services work well for the communities they serve

October 10, 2022 • By Katherine Rudzinski, Andre Ceranto and Soo Chan Carusone

What aspects of SCS are most important for people who use drugs? And how do we know if SCS are working well for the communities they serve? These were questions we set out to answer as part of a community-based project in Toronto funded by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network.

Spotting and the Good Samaritan Act: Implications and considerations

August 12, 2022 • By Melissa Perri and Nat Kaminski

“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.

Hepatitis can’t wait: Accessible hepatitis C treatment inside provincial correctional institutions in Canada

July 21, 2022 • By Olivia Gemma

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

Prison health is public health: The right to hepatitis C prevention, diagnosis and care in Canada’s correctional settings

July 5, 2022 • By Jennifer van Gennip

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.

Chemsex, PnP, crystal meth: What does harm reduction really look like?

April 26, 2022 • By Jonathan Bacon and Jean-Sébastien Rousseau

For a few years now, our team at Clinique médicale l’Actuel has noticed an increase in patients using crystal meth. At the start of the pandemic, to address our patients’ distress and increased substance use, we secured private funding to set up a support program for our patients who use crystal meth and practise chemsex, also called PnP or party ‘n play. We also convinced the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services to carry out a pilot project with this population at the clinic.