Content
Harm Reduction
Resources that outline efforts to reduce the harms experiences from opioid use, including opioid poisonings.
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Resources | Description | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Narcotic transition services | Statement from the government of Alberta about new standards for narcotic transition services. | Government of Alberta |
| Opioids and Benzos or Etizolam | Infographic poster with information about how benzodiazepines and benoz-like substances may complicate opioid overdoses and how to respond. | Toward the Heart |
| Get a naloxone kit | Information about naloxone, including links to resources about recognizing and responding to overdoses, and information about naloxone training | Government of British Columbia |
| Do I Keep Giving Naloxone? | Informational poster about how to administer naloxone and what to do if individuals do not respond to the drug. | Toward the Heart |
| Xylazine: A frank scope of "tranq-dope" | Blog post about xylazine provides responses to FAQs. Responses draw on research, lived experience and data collected by the Vancouver Island Drug Checking project. | Vancouver Island Drug Checking Project |
| Naloxone and opioid resources | Resources including posters, infographics and videos about naloxone training, Q&As and other opioid overdose related topics. | University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy |
| Opioid Surveillance | Webpage that reports local data from Sudbury about opioid-related harms. | Community Drug Strategy (Public Health Sudbury & Districts)
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| Overdose Prevention Site Manual 2022 | Updated manual with best practices and guides for overdose prevention sites. | Vancouver Coastal Health |
| Escalated drug-poisoning response actions | List of enhanced actions the British Columbia government is taking to respond to the increase in drug poisonings. | British Columbia Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions |
| Community Based Naloxone Program Distribution Site Manual |
| Alberta Health Services |
| Naloxone and the Role of the Licensed Practical Nurse in Alberta | Outlines the roles and responsibilities of licensed practical nurses in helping Albertans understand and respond to opioid overdoses with the administration of naloxone. | College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta |
| Frequently asked questions about naloxone: Myths Part 1 | Handout on naloxone's effectiveness, with information on storage and expiry considerations, the Good Samaritan Act and the impact of naloxone on opioid use. | University of Waterloo |
| Focus On: Safe Supply: Findings from Focus Groups with People Who Use Unregulated Drugs | Report on the findings from focus groups held with people using opioids from the unregulated market. Assesses the concept of safe supply and provides operational design and delivery guidance. | Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council |
| SOS: Safer Opioid Supply | Infographic on the definition, benefits and target population for safer opioid supply. | Canadian Mental Health Association |
| Opioid Poisoning Response and COVID-19 | Information sheet on community-based naloxone program recommendations on suspected Opioid poisoning response | Alberta Health Services |
| Training Manual: Overdose Prevention, Recognition and Response | Education for members of the general public and for educators in the Take Home Naloxone program about naloxone use. | Government of Manitoba |
| Safer Opioid Supply Program | Brochure describing a community-based program for safer opioid supply. | London InterCommunity Health Centre |
| Two Steps to Help Save a Life: Opioid Overdose during COVID-19 | Information sheet on how to identify an overdose and use naloxone. | York Region, Public Health |
| Naloxone: Responding to Opioid Overdose | Handout for the public on how to identify an overdose and respond with naloxone. | Interprofessional Opioid Pain Service |
| Synthèse de connaissances : réponse rapide - Genre et intervention en dépendance en contexte de pandémie auprès de personnes en situation de précarité sociale (in French only) | Knowledge synthesis undertaken to inform those who provide harm reduction or treatment services to individuals in situations of social precarity who have complex health and social needs. | Institut universitaire sur les dépendances |
| Naloxone: Treating Opioid Overdose | Information sheet on the use of naloxone. | HealthLinkBC |
| Opiate Overdose 2.1 | Treatment protocol and information about opioids and naloxone administration for healthcare providers. | Alberta Health Services |
| Drug checking with Fentanyl Test Strips | Hand out describing safe use of Fentanyl Test Strips. | Interior Health |
| Possible benefits of providing safe supply of substances to people who use drugs during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic | Examines possible benefits of providing a safe supply of substances to people who use drugs during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. | Ontario HIV Treatment Network |
| Buprenorphine/Naloxone (Suboxone) for Opioid Use Disorder: Your Questions Answered | Hand out to help clinicians discuss with patients the use of opioid agonist therapy, and share advice about the risks, benefits and adverse effects of buprenorphine/naloxone. | Institute for Safe Medical Practices |
| Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder: Your Questions Answered | Hand out to help clinicians discuss with patients the use of opioid agonist therapy, and share advice about the risks, benefits and adverse effects of methadone. | Institute for Safe Medical Practices |
| Toronto Overdose Action Plan: Status Report 2020 | Highlights actions taken to implement the Toronto Overdose Action Plan, including issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recommends additional actions to address the opioid poisoning crisis in the context of the pandemic and the increasingly toxic drug supply. | City of Toronto |
| St. Paul’s Hospital Opioid Stewardship Program | Key indicators from a program designed to reduce adverse events and long-term dependence, and avoid future opioid misuse, while maintaining pain management for people receiving opioids during their acute admission. | British Columbia Centre on Substance Use |
| CAEP Position Statement: Emergency department management of people with opioid use disorder | Position statement offering recommendations designed to position emergency medicine, emergency health care providers and EDs as key partners in a strategy to address Canada’s opioid crisis. | Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians |
| Submission to Health Canada: Consultation to inform proposed new regulations for supervised consumption sites and services | Comments on Health Canada’s proposal to develop new regulations under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for supervised consumption sites and services. | Centre for Addiction and Mental Health |
| What’s in Toronto’s Drug Supply? | Provides results of samples from the unregulated drug supply checked by Toronto’s drug checking service between Oct. 2019 and Mar. 2020 and discusses key findings. | Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation |
| Correlates of Naloxone Kit Possession | Knowledge summary outlining the results of a survey describing naloxone kit possession among people who use drugs in British Columbia. | B.C. Centre for Disease Control |
| Carry It Toolkit | A toolkit to help post-secondary programs develop a protocol to prevent and respond to opioid overdose. | Canadian Mental Health Association |
| Naloxone Access and Distribution in Canada | An environmental scan of naloxone access and distribution across Canada, including barriers to use and number of kits reported as used to reverse an overdose. | Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse |
| Naloxone Distribution Across Ontario | Analysis of naloxone distribution from pharmacy and community-based programs in relation to benchmarks. | Ontario Drug Policy Research Network |
| Bevel Up — Drugs, Users and Outreach Nursing | A 10-chapter video resource for frontline healthcare workers to ensure individuals who use drugs receive non-judgmental, compassionate and trauma-informed care. | BC Centre for Disease Control and the National Film Board of Canada |
| A one-page summary of the concept and availability of “safe supply” of drugs. | A one-page summary of the concept and availability of “safe supply” of drugs. | Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs
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| Health Canada reminds Canadians of the limitations of fentanyl test strips being used to check street drugs before consumption | An alert outlining the limitations of fentanyl test strips. | Health Canada |
| Suite of Educational Videos | Videos that outline pharmacists’ role in the opioid crisis and how to administer nasal and injectable naloxone. | Canadian Pharmacists Association |
| Supervised Consumption Services: Operational Guidance | Recommendations and guidance for various models to offer safe consumption services. | British Columbia Centre on Substance Use |
| Naloxone Costing Tool | An excel template to help jurisdictions evaluate making naloxone more accessible | Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction |
| Access to Naloxone across Canada | An environmental scan outlining naloxone availability as of November 2017 | Canadian Pharmacists Association |
| Reducing Harms: Recognizing and Responding to Opioid Overdoses in Your Organization | A guide that provides an overview of Ontario’s current situation regarding opioids, and content for organizations to develop an overdose protocol | Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario |
| Save a Life – Get a Naloxone Kit to Treat and Opioid Overdose | Safe medication use newsletter with suggestions for questions to ask your healthcare provider or doctor | Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada |
| A Public Health Guide to Developing a Community Overdose Response Plan | A guide that outlines four key elements of a public health overdose response and suggests a process for implementing a community overdose response plan | University of Victoria, Centre for Addictions Research of BC |
| Safer Supply Checklist | Elements of effective safer supply based on feedback from people who use drugs. | University of Victoria |
| Providing naloxone as an unscheduled drug Guidelines for pharmacy teams | Guidelines for the distribution of naloxone for pharmacists. | Alberta College of Pharmacy |
| Clinician’s Guide to Naloxone Training | Checklist for naloxone provision for clinicians. | University of Waterloo |
| Fentanyl Quantification and Messaging | Guidance for the delivery of Fentanyl testing services. | BCCSU |
| Report of an Evaluation of Manitoba Harm Reduction Network Services in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic | Examination of the impact of the pandemic on harm reduction services in Manitoba and identify best practices for harm reduction providers. | NCCID |
