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IN THIS ISSUE:

  • Past and Upcoming Events

  • Knowledge Translation - Reframing Diversion

  • May Meeting Themes

  • Featured Resources

  • Research Paper of the Month

  • Research

  • In the News

  • Community Updates and Events

  • Ways to Get Involved

PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS

PAST WEBINAR EVENTS:

On Thursday, May 26th, the NSS-CoP hosted the webinar: The Need for Safer Supply and Decriminalization: Evidence from Current Research and Practice, featuring Nancy Henderson (RN, BScN)Safer Supply Program Manager at the 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic. Nancy's presentation discusses the need for safer supply and decriminalization and highlights emerging evidence from current research and practice. CLICK HERE for access to the webinar recording, slides, and French transcription.

UPCOMING JUNE EVENTS:
Weekly Drop-In Meetings:

Members are welcome to join our weekly meeting drop-in meetings. It is an interdisciplinary group with prescribers, pharmacists, harm reduction workers, policy folks, nurses, people who use drugs, etc. Right now, we are meeting on Thursdays at 12pm EDT. Zoom Link

Upcoming Webinar Events:

Join us on Thursday, June 30th at 12pm EDT for a presentation about the science behind Urine Drug Screenings (UDS) followed by a panel discussion on the implications of UDS on the lives of people who use drugs, particularly for parents and guardians who use drugs. The panel discussion will cover some of the following questions: How do UDS impact and harm people who use drugs, particularly for parents and guardians who use drugs? How has the use of UDS impacted you and your family? How are the results of UDS used for surveillance, and how do the results impact your life? How do your UDS results impact your eligibility for OAT and/or safer supply programs? In what ways does the use of UDS impact your relationship of trust and confidence with your safer supply or OAT prescriber? Our moderator and speakers (tentative): Phoenix Beck McGreevy (moderator), Claire Snelgrove (presenter and speaker), Ashley Smoke (speaker), Nat Kaminski (speaker), Keri Guelke (speaker), and Hawkfeather Peterson (speaker). A moderated Q & A session will follow the discussion. Audience members are welcome to submit their questions in the Q & A box. This is a public event. English closed captioning and French written transcription will be provided. Webinar Registration Link.



Upcoming In-Person Event:

Opening Doors to Care for People Who Use Drugs: Atlantic Regional Safer Supply MeetingRegistration is now open to Atlantic Region members of the NSS-CoP for this one-day knowledge-sharing session happening in Halifax (NS) on Monday, June 27, 2022This exciting regional meeting is part of our effort to expand access to quality care for people who use drugs, including client-centred OAT and safer supply programs in the Atlantic Region. We will explore how to develop a “made for Atlantic Canada approach” to providing a continuum of care that meets the diverse needs of people in our communities through plenary and small-group sessions. Additionally, there will be opportunities for informal discussions and networking. A full schedule will be provided to attendees in the coming weeks. This event is being hosted by the NSS-CoP in collaboration with the Substance User Network of the Atlantic Region (SUNAR) and Direction 180.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION - REFRAMING DIVERSION
The NSS-CoP is excited to launch a brand-new knowledge translation tool: Reframing Diversion for Health Care Providers. While this FAQ can certainly be used by anyone, it is intended for health care providers and prescribers (physicians and nurse practitioners who have prescribing privileges) who may have questions about diversion practices among people who use drugs. Its goal is to answer common queries from health care providers and offer them helpful ways to orient their practices and navigate the potential diversion of prescribed medications.

This FAQ guide was developed by the collaborative Reframing Diversion Working Group of the NSS-CoP. The working group members hold diverse roles as stakeholders in health and social service provision, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, people who use(d) drugs, researchers, program coordinators, and activists. The working group aims to define, critique, and shape emerging discourses of diversion, to educate healthcare providers on the different community practices of diversion, and to promote a person-centered care approach to risk mitigation.

You can access the document via the digital PDF version and the HTML webpage.

MAY MEETING THEMES

Meeting Minutes:

Meeting minutes can be found in the meeting notes and resources folder on the National Safer Supply Community of Practice
Google Drive.

May 5th, 2022:

  • Hospital visits and client care
  • Fair Price Pharma

May 12th, 2022:

  • Interacting with Children's Aid Society
  • Program updates
  • Naloxone shortages

May 19th, 2022:

  • Diversion practices
  • Carry doses - increase or decrease exposure to violence?
  • Carry doses are a good option
FEATURED RESOURCES
  • NSS-CoP Resource Library: Did you know we have a resource library with OVER 700 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!
     
  • Where To?: This new online directory is for people looking for HIV, hepatitis C, sexual health or harm reduction services in Canada, with additional resources to support their journey to health and wellness. The website allows you to search for services by location or by type of service. CATIE operates and maintains this website. Service providers can also register their own organization. An administrator will review your listing before it gets published.
     
  • Parlons-en! In 2021, the Ontario Harm Reduction Network released Connecting: A Guide to Using Harm Reduction Supplies as Engagement Tools. A French-language translation, Le guide Parlons-en! Le matériel de réduction des méfaits comme outil d’interaction has now been released. This guide provides clear and stigma-free information that can help frontline harm reduction workers connect meaningfully with people who use drugs. The Public Health Agency of Canada funded the production of Connecting, and Health Canada funded the translation to Parlons-en!
     
  • What's in My Drugs?: Filmed at the Molson Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS) in Vancouver, What’s in My Drugs? explains what happens when a person goes to a drug checking service. In the short documentary style video, different workers on-site, such as a drug checking technician and expert, are interviewed and provide insight on why drug checking is an important harm reduction strategy for people who use drugs. These services are accessible in several communities in BC and continue to expand throughout Canada.
     
  • Decision Support Tool for Granting Unsupervised Doses: The Équipe de soutien clinique et organisationnel en dépendance et itinérance in Montréal recently released a decision support tool for granting unsupervised doses. This tool is meant to help guide prescriber deliberations over the decision of whether to grant unsupervised doses. The questions included allow for an objective and person-centered view of the recovery process.
     
  • The Backbench: #36 Is Canada Ready to Decriminalize Drugs?: Parliament is heading towards a vote on an NDP Private Member’s Bill that would decriminalize drug possession for personal use, among other changes to address Canada’s overdose crisis. The Liberals have also proposed a bill that would amend the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. Garth Mullins of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users has been fighting for decriminalization for a long time as he’s watched friends die and get incarcerated. He talks about these two bills and his vision for healthy drug policy in Canada.
     
  • Crackdown - Episode 32: Goodbye Greg: There is a brand-new Crackdown Podcast episode available titled "Goodbye Greg". Here is a brief description of the episode: "Last month, Crackdown Editorial Board member Greg Fresz passed away. As usual, we held a memorial for our comrade at VANDU. Sadly, we do this a lot. There’s nothing really that makes this constant death feel better, but at least we can feel “not better” together. That camaraderie? It's the only thing that helps. When we come together to mourn our dead, there’s grief, but also anger. And resolve. Our memorials are political actions. For the revolutionary, death is not the end."
     
  • Benzo Dope and Tranq - The Next Wave of the Overdose Crisis: More than 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2021, the worst year on record. The newest wave of the overdose crisis involves man-made chemicals, including animal tranquilizers, that are being combined with fentanyl to make street drugs that are deadlier and more addictive. With access to an undisguised fentanyl dealer, VICE News looks at how drugs like “benzo dope” and “tranq” are ravaging North American communities and how U.S. policy affected the latest flood of synthetic street drugs. This documentary contains graphic and potentially triggering images and scenes.
RESEARCH PAPER OF THE MONTH

Selfridge, M., et al. (2022). Factors associated with 60-day adherence to “safer supply” opioids prescribed under British Columbia's interim clinical guidance for health care providers to support people who use drugs during COVID-19 and the ongoing overdose emergency | International Journal of Drug Policy

Highlights:

  • This study evaluated factors associated with 60-day adherence to novel opioid alternatives prescribed at an inner-city health centre in Victoria, Canada.
  • A chart review was conducted to collect data on sociodemographic information, medical histories, and follow-up services among all clients prescribed novel opioid alternatives from March 2020-August 2020.
  • Overall, 77% of 286 clients were still receiving opioids after 60 days of follow-up. Medications included hydromorphone (n = 274), sustained-release oral morphine (n = 2), and oxycodone (n = 9).
  • Higher dosages and co-prescription of mental health medications and OAT may help support better adherence to this form of prescriber-based “safer supply”. Further work is needed to identify optimal prescribing practices and the longer term impacts of differing implementation scenarios.
RESEARCH

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.

IN THE NEWS
National and General News: British Columbia: Alberta: Saskatchewan: Manitoba: Ontario: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut: Québec (et en français s'il vous plaît!): Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland):
COMMUNITY UPDATES & EVENTS
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Share your skills:

We’d like to create opportunities for skills sharing. Let us know if you would like to offer a workshop or present to the membership.

Share your successes:

Share your success stories, your reports, and safer supply resources that you develop with the NSS-CoP membership through:

How can we help? Let us know what you need! Our goal is to support you by assisting in areas around your programs, organizations, and communities!

Have a question that you’d like to ask? Email us: info@nss-aps.ca or send a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
CONTACT US

https://www.nss-aps.ca/
info@nss-aps.ca
(519) 660-0875 ext. 1264

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