Safer injection facilities (SIFs) provide a clean and supervised environment, thereby reducing health risks to drug users. Potential benefits include fewer overdoses, decreased rates of HIV, Hepatitis, and other blood-borne viruses, a reduction in open drug use, increased opportunities for health services and treatments, and cost savings to society. A pilot safer injection site is expected to open in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in September 2003. This study assesses community attitudes and concerns with respect to SIFs. Focus groups with police officers, street nurses, and injection drug users in February and March 2003 revealed that they are supportive of the sites. Concerns related to the community impacts, external supports, administration, process, safety, and special populations (e.g. women, youth) were indicated. Special attention should be paid to the involvement of injection drug users in planning and programming, the inclusion of peer workers, the relationships between injection drug users, the wider population, and the police, and safety for marginalized populations. Recommendations to address concerns and ensure inclusive processes are provided.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.84527 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Malowaniec, Leah |
| Contributors | Rowe, William (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (School of Social Work.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002150106, proquestno: AAINQ98317, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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