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Article
Open AccessPhysiologic oxygen responses to smoking opioids: an observational study using continuous pulse oximetry at overdose prevention services in British Columbia, Canada
In British Columbia, Canada, smoking is the most common modality of drug use among people who die of opioid toxicity. We aimed to assess oxygen saturation (SpO2) while people smoked opioids during a pilot study t...
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Article
Open AccessWhat features of drug treatment programs help, or not, with access? a qualitative study of the perspectives of family members and community-based organization staff in Atlantic Canada
Withdrawal management and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs help to reduce some of the harms experienced by people who use substances (PWUS). There is literature on how features of drug treatment program...
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Article
Open AccessFeeling safer: effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of continuous pulse oximetry for people who smoke opioids at overdose prevention services in British Columbia, Canada
Smoking is the most common mode of unregulated opioid consumption overall and implicated in fatal overdoses in British Columbia (BC). In part, perception of decreased risk (e.g., fewer who smoke carry naloxone...
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Article
Open AccessFactors associated with obtaining prescribed safer supply among people accessing harm reduction services: findings from a cross-sectional survey
With growing rates of unregulated drug toxicity death and concerns regarding COVID-19 transmission among people who use drugs, in March 2020, prescribed safer supply guidance was released in British Columbia. ...
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Article
Open AccessAssociations with experience of non-fatal opioid overdose in British Columbia, Canada: a repeated cross sectional survey study
Lives lost in North America due to the unregulated drug poisoning emergency are preventable and those who survive an opioid overdose may suffer long-term disability. Rates of opioid overdose more than doubled ...
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Article
Open AccessAssociation between toxic drug events and encephalopathy in British Columbia, Canada: a cross-sectional analysis
Encephalopathy can occur from a non-fatal toxic drug event (overdose) which results in a partial or complete loss of oxygen to the brain, or due to long-term substance use issues. It can be categorized as a no...
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Article
Precarious Housing Associated with Unsuppressed Viral load, sub-optimal Access to HIV Treatment and Unmet Health care Needs, Among Women Living with HIV in Metro Vancouver, Canada
We investigated associations between (1) housing status (four categories measuring housing stability) and outcomes along the HIV care continuum (not currently on antiretroviral therapy [ART]; sub-optimal ART a...
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Article
Open AccessReasonable access: important characteristics and perceived quality of legal and illegal sources of cannabis for medical purposes in Canada
Throughout the past two decades of legal medical cannabis in Canada, individuals have experienced challenges related to accessing legal sources of cannabis for medical purposes. The objective of our study was ...
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Article
Open AccessSmoking identified as preferred mode of opioid safe supply use; investigating correlates of smoking preference through a 2021 cross-sectional study in British Columbia
The increasing number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in British Columbia (BC) has led to calls for a regulated (pharmaceutical grade) supply of substances (“safe supply”). In order to inform safe supply recom...
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Article
Open Access“It’s just a perfect storm”: Exploring the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on overdose risk in British Columbia from the perspectives of people who use substances
Despite the implementation and expansion of public health and harm reduction strategies aimed at preventing and reversing overdoses, rates of overdose-related events and fatalities continue to rise in British ...
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Article
Drug overdose and the risk of cardiovascular diseases: a nested case–control study
North America has been experiencing an unprecedented epidemic of drug overdose. This study investigated the associations of drug overdose with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 11 major CVD subtypes.
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Article
Open AccessThe prevalence and social-structural correlates of housing status among women living with HIV in Vancouver, Canada
Women living with HIV (WLWH) experience numerous social and structural barriers to stable housing, with substantial implications for access to health care services. This study is the first to apply the Canadia...
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Article
Open AccessIntention to seek emergency medical services during community overdose events in British Columbia, Canada: a cross-sectional survey
Canada and the United States continue to experience increasing overdose deaths attributed to highly toxic illicit substances, driven by fentanyl and its analogues. Many bystanders report being hesitant to call...
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Article
Open AccessPriority setting for Canadian Take-Home Naloxone best practice guideline development: an adapted online Delphi method
Take-Home Naloxone (THN) is a core intervention aimed at addressing the toxic illicit opioid drug supply crisis. Although THN programs are available in all provinces and territories throughout Canada, there ar...
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Article
Open AccessAwareness and knowledge of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act among people at risk of witnessing an overdose in British Columbia, Canada: a multi-methods cross sectional study
Bystanders to drug overdoses often avoid or delay calling 9–1-1 and cite fear of police involvement as a main reason. In 2017, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSDOA) was enacted by the Canadian government t...
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Article
Open AccessIdentifying behaviours for survival and wellness among people who use methamphetamine with opioids in British Columbia: a qualitative study
British Columbia (BC) has been in a state of public health emergency since 2016, due to the unprecedented numbers of fatal and non-fatal drug toxicity (i.e. overdose) events. Methamphetamine detection in illic...
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Article
Open AccessPriorities among effective clinical preventive services in British Columbia, Canada
Despite the long-standing experience of rating the evidence for clinical preventive services, the delivery of effective clinical preventive services in Canada and elsewhere is less than optimal. We outline an ...
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Article
Open AccessFactors associated with take-home naloxone kit usage in British Columbia: an analysis of administrative data
The British Columbia (BC) Take-Home Naloxone (THN) program provides naloxone to people at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose for use in reversing suspected overdose events. This study seeks ...
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Article
Open AccessUsing intervention map** to develop ‘ROSE’: an intervention to support peer workers in overdose response settings
Peer workers (those with lived/living experience of substance use working in overdose response settings) are at the forefront of overdose response initiatives in British Columbia (BC). Working in these setting...
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Article
Open AccessExamining prevalence and correlates of smoking opioids in British Columbia: opioids are more often smoked than injected
British Columbia (BC) is in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis. Since 2017, smoking illicit drugs has been the leading mode of drug administration causing overdose death. Yet, little is known about people ...
