This study will examine the best models for supervised consumption sites (SCS), how these sites can be sustained over time, the public health effects of supervised consumption sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of scaling up or scaling down consumption services in Ontario, and how to address barriers to using sites for specific groups – including people who are racialized and Indigenous, women, members of LGBTQI2S communities, and people who use stimulants.
This study will ask the following questions:
- What are the best models for supervised consumption sites?
- How can supervised consumption sites sustained over time?
- What are the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operation of supervised consumption sites?
- What would be the impact of scaling up or scaling down consumption services in Ontario?
- How supervised consumption sites can address barriers to using sites for specific groups, including: people who are racialized, people who are Indigenous, women, members of LGBTQI2S communities, and people who use stimulants.
Methods
We will conduct a multi-method study that draws on our expertise and extensive partnerships with communities of people who use drugs, health care providers, and policy-level decision makers. Our study will have direct relevance for public health and health policy and will help to provide evidence for evaluating SCSs and will help all stakeholders address which SCS models are the best in which contexts and at which times, how SCSs can be sustained and how they can continue to evolve to integrate additional services and reach populations, how SCSs can continue to adapt to address ongoing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, SCSs can be optimally integrated into a harm reduction response in the context of an ongoing opioid overdose crisis, and will provide a much-needed evidence base for decisions regarding scale-up or scale-down of SCSs.
Why this is important
The opioid overdose crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are 2 major public health problems in Canada. People who use drugs are at high risk for harms during the pandemic due to changes in the drug supply, uncertain economic instability, and increased isolation. Supervised injection services may help to address these risks. Currently, there are 19 supervised injection sites in Ontario. Less than 1 in 10 opioid-related overdose deaths in Ontario occurred in a region in which there was a supervised injection site. Our study will examine the best models for supervised injection sites, how these sites can be sustained over time, how to address barriers to using sites for specific groups, including people who are racialized and Indigenous, women, members of LGBTQI2S communities, and people who use stimulants, the public health effects of supervised injection sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of scaling up or scaling down supervised injection services in Ontario.
Impact
Our study will have direct relevance for public health and health policy and will help all stakeholders address which SCS models are the best in which contexts and at which times, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.