What could be done to improve opioid-related care and services in Hamilton?
Project Description:
Opioid use disorder is a complex issue, and there is no silver bullet for addressing it. A comprehensive opioid dependence and overdose response plan must increase access to effective treatment, reduce harms, prevent future opioid misuse, and decrease the role of criminalization and stigma.
While the Hamilton Drug Strategy (HDS) has been paused since March 2020, HPHS and local community agencies continue to offer a wide range of opioid-related harm focused interventions. Throughout the COVID-19 emergency response, Hamilton Public Health Services (HPHS) and local community agencies have continued to provide harm reduction, community outreach, mental health supports, engagement, diversion, data sharing, and treatment services.
While there are many opioid-harm focused interventions implemented locally by a wide range of community agencies, there continues to be increasing overdose incidents. Drug-related emergency department visits, hospital admissions, overdoses, and deaths have sharply increased in the past five years and this trend is mostly attributed to opioid-related poisoning and fentanyl. In the City of Hamilton, the annual number of local deaths due to poisoning from opioids significantly increased in 2017 and has remained high since that time. Preliminary data reports 124 confirmed opioid-related deaths in 2020 in the City of Hamilton, the third consecutive year with over 100 fatalities; highlighting the ongoing need for strong local interventions.
Equity-oriented frameworks are recommended to better understand and respond to the interconnected social and cultural factors that impact health outcomes for people who use opioids, especially for those experiencing systemic inequities, unique vulnerabilities, and structural violence. The following groups has been identified by Health Canada and Public Health Ontario as people with needs that are often unmet by existing substance use services: Indigenous Peoples, racialized peoples and communities, women, 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples and communities, people experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness, and youth. Understanding the unique needs, barriers, and challenges experienced by these groups is essential for creating an effective local response.
Challenge Summary:
The project will explore answers to the following questions among Indigenous Peoples, racialized peoples and communities, women, 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples and communities, people experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness, and youth:
What are your experiences with accessing opioid-related care and services in the City of Hamilton?
What are the specific barriers and challenges you have faced? What is working well? Examples of opioid related care and services include:
accessing naloxone
safe consumption sites
managed opioid programs or other treatment services
emergency response to overdoses or people experiencing other harms from substance use (e.g. police, paramedics, emergency departments)
other health services (e.g. talking to a doctor, pharmacy services, hospital inpatient care)
Does identifying as a particular group impact the way you access these services and if so, how and why?
What could be done to improve opioid-related care and services in the City of Hamilton?
City Staff: Katrice Carson, Senior Project Manager, Hamilton Public Health, Julie Hamilton, Supervisor Mental Health and Harm Reduction
Faculty, Course, Students:
Jim Vanderwoerd, Redeemer University, Course: Capestone 210A, 4-5 students
