Grant: Catalyst Grant: Patient-Oriented Research

In the context of the current public health crisis, the Fraser East region has experienced some of the highest rates of overdose deaths in BC, with the number of deaths increasing more than 700% since 2007. Semi-urban and rural communities such as Fraser East are struggling to identify and implement effective strategies to reduce and prevent overdose-related deaths because most of the interventions in Canada are based on research that has been conducted in urban communities. To address this gap in research and practice, the Overdose Response in Fraser East project is working with peers, families, community members, and organizations in Fraser East to identify practical and supportive interventions to reduce overdose death and increase connectivity to existing services in rural communities. Based on community engagement activities to date, peer researchers from the Overdose Response team have developed and pilot-tested a demographic survey and detailed interview guide to investigate the perspectives and experiences of people who are currently at highest risk of overdose death in the Fraser East region: those using drugs alone in a private residence. The CIHR Catalyst Grant will be used to extend these peer-led interviews to other more rural and remote communities in the region (n=60), which will then be contextualized, validated, and refined with administrative health data from BC's Provincial Overdose Cohort. These research and community engagement activities represent the first steps needed to develop a practical, evidence-informed, scalable plan (including specific interventions) to reduce fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Fraser East, with significant potential for transferability to other semi-urban and rural communities in Canada.