Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Opioid overdose deaths and non-fatal overdoses have increased significantly in recent years and in British Columbia drug related overdoses were declared a public health emergency. In the context of the overdose crisis there is an urgent need to inform the implementation and scale-up of harm reduction services and their effective integration within health, housing and support programs and services. While the effectiveness of harm reduction services has been shown in certain contexts, much less is known about how to implement comprehensive equity-oriented approaches in diverse contexts, and the impacts of these approaches. Equity-oriented approaches attempt to lessen the potential harms that can occur when people experience stigma and discrimination when accessing services. Researchers on this proposal collaborated on the development of a social justice and health equity framework known as EQUIP to foster equity-oriented interventions in primary healthcare. The EQUIP framework and interventions are based on four interconnected dimensions of equity-oriented care (trauma and violence informed care, culturally safe care, contextually tailored care, and harm-reduction) and 10 strategies to guide organizations in enhancing their capacity to provide equity-oriented services. This proposal builds on this research and engages collaborators implementing harm reduction programs and services in Victoria BC. The purpose of this planning grant is to translate our existing equity-oriented framework to inform the development of equity-oriented harm reduction interventions which can be tailored to improve policies and practices regarding illicit substance use and opioid overdose in Victoria BC. Specifically, we will engage local stakeholders in a two-day meeting to determine key issues and research gaps and build local capacity for implementing equity oriented harm reduction strategies. The key outcome of our project is a project scheme grant application submitted to the CIHR.