harm reduction - search results

[…] some people to call for a boycott of the games. Less has been written about the plight of another of the country’s marginalised groups, however.  According to Harm Reduction International’s most recent Global state of harm reduction report, there are an estimated at 1.8m injecting drug users in Russia, more than 37 per cent of […]

[…] our findings.’ There have been suggestions that COVID-19 ‘may interact with existing liver problems, and potentially increase vulnerability to those already at the highest risk of alcohol-related harms’, it adds. Prof Jim Lewsey: confident that MUP was reducing alcohol health harms The researchers state that they are confident that the reduction in health harms […]

[…] 9), Drs Carnwath and Ford suggest that there is a backlash within the UK against methadone and cite, amongst other things, my contribution to the debate on harm reduction at the recent Drug Treatment Conference in Glasgow. If there is a backlash against methadone, it seems to me that this has been created not by […]

[…] July, page 10) that ‘Release and the editor have missed the point’ – on what exactly was not clear to me.He states that ‘the best form of harm reduction is abstinence’. Quite right he is too – for the small minority who are able to achieve this. For the rest, needle exchange, maintenance and other […]

The Values of Harm Reduction  Harm Reduction 2013. This international conference is a key event for all those interested in harm reduction around the world. The theme of the Conference 2013 is ‘The Value/s of harm reduction’. The theme calls on the urgent need to provide sufficient political and financial support to address the HIV epidemic driven […]

[…] £30bn a year. But where is the mention of escalating health risks from 24-hour drinking?, ask the medical experts, called to advise govern- ment on the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strat- egy. Members of the advisory panel have spoken out publicly about the disappear- ance of their scientific evidence – evidence that pointed to a rise […]

[…] SPIRITS very good experience in this field and we must learn from them. At the same time, I categorically condemn any practice that seeks to tor ture, harm and even kill people in the name of rescue work. That is why we have teamed up with the charity Stepping Stones to seek government suppor […]

Harm reduction measures can be seen as controversial within the wider population, but isn’t confronting public fears an essential stage in moving the agenda on? DDN reports ‘How radical can harm reduction be?’ asked Dr Ingrid van Beek at the City health 2016 conference in London. Van Beek was part of the team that […]

On the front line Matt Johnstone brings harm reduction news from the annual NNEF meeting  The National Needle Exchange Forum (NNEF) held its annual meeting in Birmingham last month. The meeting brings together members of the NNEF to present the latest news and updates on harm reduction for needle exchange workers, harm reduction advocates and […]

The song remains the same Music festivals may go hand in hand with drug culture, but we can be loud and clear on harm reduction, says Tracy Walker  In a muddy field, the distant thud of bass and excitement in the air, a small band of drug workers flies the flag for harm reduction (HR) […]

Is the Welsh Government right to propose a ban on the use of e-cigarettes in public places, or does it risk seriously undermining tobacco harm reduction?  E-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to ordinary cigarettes and regarded by some as a key element of tobacco harm reduction. The campaigning charity Ash (Action on Smoking […]

[…] going to be harms,’ said Pat O’Hare, opening HIT’s annual Hot Topics conference. The question was, how could we tackle this against a backdrop of disinvestment, where harm reduction was being ‘dismantled bit by bit’? Alex Stevens, professor at the University of Kent, used statistics to show how drug deaths were misused, ‘to scare and […]

[…] into the ketamine course.’  Amy Massey is a ketamine peer trainer A generation of young people using ketamine has been more heavily criminalised, not provided with known harm reduction advice, and left to approach drug and health services where they must often teach practitioners about their health conditions to receive help.  People with ketamine bladder […]

There are two weeks left to apply for the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme (THRSP), which aims to create the ‘tobacco harm reduction leaders of tomorrow’. THRSP is looking for its eighth cohort of scholars, who will receive a 12-month bespoke mentoring programme to undertake a tobacco harm reduction project of their own design. In […]

Fear-driven narratives in the media risk seriously undermining tobacco harm reduction efforts, heard delegates at this year’s Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) in Warsaw. ‘The bad news is that having the facts on our side is clearly not enough,’ said Jacob Grier, a journalist covering tobacco policy for publications like Slate and the Atlantic. ‘Pervasive […]

[…] calling for effective but distant systemic change like the introduction of overdose prevention centres and expansion of drug testing facilities. Of course, the introduction of evidence-based, low-threshold harm reduction should be a priority for the UK, and we should continue to promote it at every opportunity. However, there is a problem staring us in the […]

[…] from Cranstoun and Deb Hussey from Turning Point gave their perspectives on progress. ‘After recovery had been prioritised in services, it was more difficult to talk about harm reduction,’ said O’Hare. ‘So it was important to have a united front. The campaign had to happen because of nitazenes but we knew we couldn’t change anything […]

[…] in July. Still recovering from a decade of budget cuts to drug treatment and the unintended adverse impacts of the recovery agenda moving the focus away from harm reduction – and with drug-related deaths escalating every year since 2011 – treatment services were not ready for the severe overdose risk posed by nitazenes. Many of […]

[…] country’s ‘overdose epidemic’. Almost 107,000 people in the US died a drug-related death in the 12-month period to November 2021. The strategy is the first to ‘champion harm reduction to meet people where they are and engage them in care and services’, the White House states, as interventions like naloxone and NSP are often still […]

[…] the market Over time I was able to disclose that I was a health professional who was interested in understanding the market and assessing the potential for harm reduction, rather than a customer. It is important to stress that Suffolk Police had oversight of this work and no laws were broken. Both sellers were eventually […]

Taking a global snapshot Why harm reduction must focus on the public health challenge. BECOMING IMMERSED in an international harm reduction conference is quite an intense experience, but that’s what we did last month at IHRA’s event in Barcelona. It was the first time DDN had been to this annual event, and the first time […]

By improving optimised OST and access to harm reduction, along with the upscaling of Naloxone provision, we can have an impact on drug related deaths.

[…] enables collation of evidence that good work is being done in the field, while also helping to map the existing gaps. About the author: bxchange Supplies is a social enterprise that develops products and publications for the drug sector, with the aim of improving the harm reduction response to drug use. Februbry 2015 |  drinkanddrugbnewb | 13 Reviews www.drinkbnddrugsnews.com All About Drugs and Young People: Essential Information and Advice for Parents and Professionals Julian bohen, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, £16.99 DRbWING ON COHEN’S LENGTHY CbREER IN THE SECTOR , the book – and in particular the practical advice – is based on what he has learned from fellow workers, parents and from working directly with young people.  The book is based on several key principles. The first is the notion of equating ‘drugs’ with a broad range of legal and illegal substances – that nearly […]

[…] industry of retailers, wholesalers and chemists. Down at the sharp end, the drug treatment field has undergone some seismic shifts – moving from a political focus on harm reduction and crime prevention to recovery, accompanied by a removal of ring-fenced funding, ferocious contract-culture and a cliff drop in public spending. The UK drug treatment system […]

[…] viruses, he believes. ‘There was a second spike in the HIV epidemic here that coincided with crack arriving, and it was only really because we had good harm reduction and treatment services in place that it didn’t become a more fully fledged epidemic. We could get an outbreak linked to legal high injecting, for example, […]

[…] the JunkiesBond are vibrant, active user led organisations to this day. In the UK, informed user activists emerged to be directly involved in the foundation of the harm reduction movement during the 1980s, in Liverpool, London and Manchester. Today this is reflected in the UK Harm Reduction Alliance and user groups’ and advocates’ open espousal […]

[…] on to the doctor for treatment with antibiotics. He then continued his journey to a specialist treatment service, and then on to a local needle exchange and harm reduction service. This seemed to demonstrate perfectly that I had achieved standard AA1. I used my experience from this episode for my portfolio, by giving a brief […]

[…] users, who are then awarded a certificate on successful completion of each section. The programme, developed by Altrix Healthcare, features 11 modules covering every aspect of treatment,from harm reduction to maintaining a drug-free lifestyle. Early trials have reported improved levels of user engagement in the treatment as well as better relationships between workers and service […]

[…] year begins on a positive note with the second DDN/Alliance service user conference, Voices for choices, a vibrant day of debate in Birmingham. Meanwhile, the abstinence versus harm reduction argument rumbles on in our letters pages following a piece by Professor Neil McKeganey, and the government finally reclassifies cannabis to class B despite last-minute attempts […]

[…] as contractinb COVID. There had been impressive collaboration within the sector, and some innovative developments includinb triallinb a ‘click and collect’ model for needles and other eissential harm reduction equipment. But there was also an increase in mental health issues from the boredom, loneliness and a situation that ‘has been really toubh for everybody’. ‘We’ve […]

[…] on clearing it up.’ So what could be the way forward? There was a clear need for evidence-based policy, he said, and we had to take a harm reduction approach that was ‘holistic and non-judgemental’, giving access to services. ‘The government has to direct significant investment in drug services as a matter of urgency,’ he […]

Around 99 per cent of people who inject drugs live in countries that are failing to provide adequate harm reduction services, says a new report from UNAIDS. Despite overall new HIV infections declining globally, infection rates among people who use drugs remain unchanged, says Health, rights and drugs: harm reduction, decriminalisation and zero discrimination for […]

[…] an initiative that can’t happen soon enough, says Ifor Glyn  There is a growing acceptance and evidence that providing safe and supervised injecting centres is a recognised harm reduction initiative that can lead to saving lives, encourage engagement with treatment services, and help reduce HIV and hepatitis C infections. They also address public concerns about […]

[…] in years, Europe has been able to gather together an experienced group of advocates to form a motivated, innovative and forward thinking activist group interested in implementing harm reduction policy and practice across the EU. The group is called The European Network of People who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD). We began in 2010/11 when EuroNPUD received […]

[…] hears from anti-smoking charity ASH on why, perhaps surprisingly, it thinks the plan is misguided Although the treatment sector is slightly less polarised than it was, the harm reduction/abstinence argument has raged for so long that’s it’s become the field’s background music. So it’s interesting to see similar debates played out – sometimes bitterly – […]

DDN reports from the 2013 NNEF annual meeting in Bournemouth, which has become a keenly anticipated fixture for information and ideas.  Keeping harm reduction at the heart of drug strategy was a key concern of the National Needle Exchange Forum (NNEF)’s annual meeting. This year it was held in Bournemouth and drew enthusiastic attendance from needle exchange workers […]

Photo by Baim Hanif on Unsplash Release’s Laura Garius discusses why universities must adopt harm reduction. It’s time to adopt a harm-reduction approach to student drug use. Despite decades of universities taking the ‘just say no’ approach, and with some actively pursuing an idealistic ‘drug-free campus‘, research shows that the majority of students have, or […]

[…] by medics and other support services. This all gave plenty of reasons for K-users Amy Massey and Mat Southwell to take action. Together with other K-users, these harm reduction activists aim to improve information exchange and access to healthcare and other services. Harm reductionists Mat Southwell and Amy Massey Mat has been an active harm […]

[…] for shared care were poly or chaotic drug users, said Dr Janikiewicz, as treatment could be far more complicated than for straightforward opiate use. Encourage GPs towards harm reduction Primary and secondary care have very different ways of working, but shared care is getting bigger, according to Suzanne Corrigan. A shared care co-ordinator at Brent […]

[…] C Trust had fought hard for patients to have a voice in hepatitis treatment and there needed to be a grassroots movement to ask for accountability for harm reduction provision. Peer accounts about the difficulties of obtaining needles were shared with the conference. ‘I’m diabetic, I get needles, as many as I want, and whenever […]

[…] Services Administration (SAMHSA) do not fund programmes ‘that fail to achieve adequate outcomes’, according to a new executive order from president Donald Trump. These include ‘so-called “ harm reduction” or “safe consumption” efforts that only facilitate illegal drug use and its attendant harm’, it states. The provision is part of a wider push to remove […]

A new AI chatbot able to provide accurate answers to both ‘basic and complex’ questions about drugs and harm reduction has been launched by Cranstoun. Drugbot can give accurate information on issues like safer behaviours, dosage and aftercare Drugbot, delivered in partnership with technology-based harm reduction social enterprise Substancy, can give accurate information on issues […]

[…] to have a big pile of dead bodies before anything happens,’ he said. ‘No one’s taking this as seriously as we should be.’ He recommended an emergency harm reduction plan that included drug-checking in every city and town, with test strips available for different drugs. Supervised drug consumption facilities should also be rolled out nationally […]

[…] to enrol in drug treatment services. In fact, the majority of people who use drugs won’t need the support these services primarily offer, but would benefit from harm reduction support. Unfortunately, most harm reduction services in England are built into drug treatment services that people don’t feel comfortable accessing. Some people who contact Release also […]

[…] HIV in Europe. Her service, Metzineres, was responsive – an innovative, daring, non-profit cooperative, providing a sheltered environment exclusively for women. ‘It covers the full spectrum of harm reduction approaches,’ she said. Being effective meant breaking protocols. The Metzineres model provided consistency while being reliable, pragmatic and cost effective. Above all, it welcomed all women […]

[…] ns.o rg KEY Alcohol training:Includes identification and brief advice (IBA) and brief            interventions Complementary training: Includes hypnotherapy, acupuncture, holistic            treatments, wellbeing and nutrition Workforce development: Includes better standards training and preparing           for CQC registration Drug training: Includes stimulant use, opiates and smoking Dual diagnosis: Co-existence of a mental disorder and substance misuse disorder Criminal justice: Includes probation, police and prison Psychsocial therapies: Includes CBT, counselling, 12-step programmes,            behavioural train  ing, anger management, motivational training and           psychometric screening Family support: Includes family patterns, systemic theory and family meetings Harm reduction: Includes safer injectingbsmokingbdrinking, BBV Service user training: Includes mentoring, volunteering, basic skills Assessed: Is the participant evaluated or assessed?  Accreditation: Is this accredited training?  DANOS: Is all or part of this training mapped to DANOS? PT:  Part time  FT:   Full time  DL:  Distancebe-Learning Qualifications BSc:  Bachelor of Science BA:  Bachelor of the Arts MSc:  Master of Science  PGDip: Postgraduate Diploma PGCert:  Postgraduate Certificate […]

[…] found that the number of rough sleepers with a drvug problem had increased from 50 per cent to 60 per cent in just four years. IT'S ABOUT HARM REDUCTION ‘Getting out as much nalobone as possible to peovple who don’t necessarily engage vwith standard services is really important,’ says Megan Nash, team lveader for WDP’s […]

[…] other entertainment mean that young people are once again turning to outdoor partying on a large scale. Drug services are going to have to get creative about harm reduction, says Kevin Flemen. In many post-apocalyptic films there’s an unbearably naff sequence where everyone has a party. It’s like The Matrix Reloaded ‘Zion dance party’ and […]

[…] with to deal with addiction? Well, is providing needles, methadone and Subutex in effect treatment? To further confuse, controlled alcohol consumption is encouraged under the name of harm reduction. (Where’s the alcoholic who will only drink half of his bottle for that day?) To aid our financial dilemma, we wrote to the minister in the […]

[…] users in the south of the county. It is a respected mouthpiece and also a way of highlighting service gaps and giving feedback on training, conferences and harm reduction initiatives. Have you any tips for others starting a group? Be realistic, don’t overstretch yourselves, and decide on a name and an identity. Look at what […]

[…] and alcohol work. From learning ‘the basics’ to getting hands-on experience of some of the fundamental activities undertaken by drug and alcohol-workers (such as handling risk, assessment, harm reduction, care planning and reviews), participants will leave the training with a good grasp of many of the underpinning knowledge and skills required in drug and alcohol […]

[…] concerns are taken notice of. Manjit highlights a publicity campaign to reach carers, which leads them to a support group facilitated by Adfam. There’s also a new harm reduction campaign, where 12 ser vice users have been trained to give overdose and harm reduction information to ser vice users in the community, including how to […]

[…] shift’, she states, but that doesn’t mean that all countries are moving in the same direction. ‘Russia is absolutely entrenched in complete rejection of any kind of harm reduction, for example,’ she says. ‘Human rights NGOs are being shut down on a daily basis, and last year they asked USAID and other multi-lateral bodies to […]

Life and death Harm reduction at international level goes beyond choice One slightly built young woman trembled on the platform at the International Harm Reduction Conference. She was introduced as a passionate campaigner for drug users’ rights and a harm reduction pioneer, preventing overdose with naloxone in Cambodia. But when it came to Srey Mao’s turn to […]

[…] ‘At this time I was the drug czar. He asked me, “why aren’t smokers in jail?” It was the human rights angle, the ‘emotional momentum’ that introduced harm reduction services, including needle exchanges and outreach. As president of Caso Drug Users Union, Rui Coimbra Morais had witnessed the evolution of the decriminalisation model in Portugal […]

[…] being given arbitrary changes to their treatment plans related to what their commissioners would prefer to provide.’ Changes in treatment and a focus on recovery had sidelined harm reduction, and there was pressure on services to achieve ‘drug-free exits’. So what should we be doing? Two of the clearest practical steps were to invest in […]

[…] no way of telling which substances may be contaminated or what the combined effects will be. Having someone who can help in an emergency is an important harm reduction measure, but there‘s no safe way to take these substances.’ Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly ​report available here Suspected drug deaths in the […]

[…] the criminal justice system, needle syringe programme and people affected by a loved one’s drug and /or alcohol use. We are currently recruiting an Advanced Recovery Practitioner: harm reduction to work across Suffolk. You will be responsible for delivering excellence in all aspects of service delivery. Working closely with clinicians, recovery workers and managers, you […]

[…] culture of kindness, compassion and hope which is stigma-free and developed in an equal partnership with those who use services » Support which adopts the principles of harm reduction in ‘meeting people where they are’ » Integrated case management, which involves the person in decision-making and a shared assessment of risk » Practice which addresses more […]

The global Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme is looking for a new cohort of students to work on projects of their own design. The programme has so far developed the careers of more than 160 scholars from almost 50 countries, ‘all of whom are dedicated to reducing tobacco-related harms in their communities’. The scholarship, which […]