Social Work and Drug Use
Harm reduction is a pragmatic, evidence-based approach that aims to reduce the negative health, social, and legal consequences associated with psychoactive substance use without requiring abstinence. Rather than focusing solely on eliminating drug use, harm reduction prioritizes saving lives, protecting health, and upholding the dignity and rights of people who use drugs. This approach is particularly relevant for social work and public health professionals, who often work at the intersection of individual support, community well-being, and structural inequalities.
This module brings together three distinct but closely related harm reduction interventions: Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) and Harm Reduction Vending Machines (HRVMs) and Preventing Overdose. All initiatives are designed to prevent drug-related harms such as fatal overdoses, the transmission of infectious diseases (including HIV and viral hepatitis), and the social exclusion of people who use drugs.
While they operate in different ways and settings, they share common goals: increasing access to life-saving resources, reducing risk, and strengthening connections between marginalized populations and health and social services.
Preventing Opioid Overdose
This course provides comprehensive training on preventing opioid overdoses, understanding the function of opioids, identifying overdose risk factors, administering first aid in case of an overdose, and the use of naloxone as a life-saving intervention. The course will also explore take-home naloxone programs, and address the heightened overdose risk for recently released prisoners. Participants will gain practical knowledge and strategies to implement effective overdose prevention and response measures.
This course is designed for healthcare professionals, first responders, community health workers, social workers, prison staff, policymakers, and volunteers involved in harm reduction and opioid overdose prevention programs. It is also suitable for individuals interested in understanding how to address opioid overdose and reduce opioid-related mortality in various community and correctional settings.