Mapping a moral panic: News media narratives and medical expertise in public debates on safer supply, diversion, and youth drug use in Canada.

The ongoing overdose and drug toxicity crisis in North America has contributed momentum to the emergence of safer supply prescribing and programs in Canada as a means of providing an alternative to the highly volatile unregulated drug supply. The implementation and scale-up of safer supply have been met with a vocal reaction on the part of news media commentators, conservative politicians, recovery industry representatives, and some prominent addiction medicine physicians. This reaction has largely converged around several narratives, based on unsubstantiated claims and anecdotal evidence, alleging that safer supply programs are generating a "new opioid epidemic", reflecting an emerging alignment among key institutional and political actors. Employing situational analysis method, and drawing on the policy studies and social science scholarship on moral panics, this essay examines news media coverage from January to July 2023, bringing this into dialogue with other existing empirical sources on safer supply (e.g. Coroner's reports, program evaluations, debates among experts in medical journals). We employ eight previously established criteria delineating moral panics to critically appraise public dialogue regarding safer supply, diverted medication, and claims of increased youth initiation to drug use and youth overdose. In detailing the emergence of a moral panic regarding safer supply, we trace historic continuities with earlier drug scares in Canadian history mobilized as tools of racialized poverty governance, as well as previous backlashes towards healthcare interventions for people who use drugs (PWUD). The essay assesses the claims of moral entrepreneurs against the current landscape of opioid use, diversion, and overdose among youth, notes the key role played by medical expertise in this and previous moral panics, and identifies what the convergence of these narratives materialize for PWUD and healthcare access, as well as the broader policy responses such narratives activate.

"Everybody is impacted. Everybody's hurting": Grief, loss and the emotional impacts of overdose on harm reduction workers.

BACKGROUND: The emotional impacts of witnessing and responding to overdose and overdose-related deaths have been largely overlooked during the drug toxicity overdose crisis in North America. Scarce research has analyzed these impacts on the health and well-being of harm reduction workers, and the broader determinants of harm reduction work. Our study investigates the experiences and impacts of witnessing and responding to frequent and escalating rates of overdose on harm reduction workers in Toronto, Canada. METHODS: Using semi-structured interviews, 11 harm reduction workers recruited from harm reduction programs with supervised consumption services in Toronto, Canada, explored experiences with and reactions to overdose in both their professional and personal lives. They also provided insights on supports necessary to help people cope with overdose-related loss. We used thematic analysis to develop an initial coding framework, subsequent iterations of codes and emergent themes. RESULTS: Results revealed that harm reductions workers experienced physical, emotional, and social effects from overdose-related loss and grief. While some effects were due to the toll of overdose response and grief from overdose-related losses, they were exacerbated by the lack of political response to the scale of the drug toxicity overdose crisis and the broader socio-economic-political environment of chronic underfunding for harm reduction services. Harm reduction workers described the lack of appropriate workplace supports for trauma from repeated overdose response and overdose-related loss, alongside non-standard work arrangements that resulted in a lack of adequate compensation or access to benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights opportunities for organizational practices that better support harm reduction workers, including formal emotional supports and community-based supportive care services. Improvement to the socio-economic-political determinants of work such as adequate compensation and access to full benefit packages are also needed in the harm reduction sector for all workers.

Characteristics of Opioid Toxicity Deaths Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Ontario Prior To and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: To characterize opioid toxicity deaths among adolescents and young adults in Ontario, Canada, prior to and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study of opioid toxicity deaths among individuals aged 15-24 in Ontario in the year prior to (March 17, 2019, to March 16, 2020) and the first year of the pandemic (March 17, 2020, to March 16, 2021) using administrative health databases. We analyzed circumstances surrounding death, substances contributing to death, and health-care encounters prior to death. RESULTS: We identified 284 deaths among Ontarians aged 15-24, including 115 in the year preceding and 169 in the first year of the pandemic. Fentanyl contributed to 84.3% of deaths in the prepandemic year, rising to 93.5% (p = .012) the following year. Stimulants contributed to approximately half of deaths in both periods (41.7% prepandemic and 49.1% during pandemic). In both periods, roughly one in 4 decedents had a health-care encounter in the week prior to death and less than 20% of those with an opioid use disorder received opioid agonist treatment in the 30 days prior to death. DISCUSSION: Among young Ontarians, the number of opioid-related deaths increased by 47% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fentanyl contributed to the vast majority of deaths, with non-opioid substances (primarily stimulants) also contributing to approximately half of deaths. Patterns of health-care utilization prior to death suggest opportunities to better connect this population to services that address opioid use disorder needs and promote harm reduction.

Prescribed safer opioid supply: A scoping review of the evidence.

BACKGROUND: Safer opioid supply programs provide prescription pharmaceutical opioids, often with supportive services, to people at high risk of experiencing harms related to substance use. However, questions regarding the effectiveness and safety of this practice remain. We conducted a scoping review of literature describing client outcomes from formal opioid supply programs providing prescriptions for pharmaceutical opioids, and the perceptions of involved clients/providers. METHODS: We performed a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies and grey literature published between January 1, 2012, to September 12, 2023. We included articles reporting either safer opioid supply client outcomes or clients/providers perspectives. Extracted data included study objectives, substance use patterns, client outcomes, client/provider perspectives, and estimates of effectiveness and/or harm. RESULTS: Our search yielded 1,597 articles. Following removal of duplicates and application of exclusion criteria, 24 publications comprising 17 peer-reviewed and seven grey literature publications were included in our study. We generated eight themes summarizing topics in the available literature: opioid-related toxicities, infectious complications, other clinical outcomes, client-reported outcomes, program access barriers, diversion, program retention, and costs to the healthcare system. Specific findings included low rates of opioid toxicities, improved physical and mental health, and improved quality of life among clients. A lack of access to adequate opioid doses and the limited range of opioid options offered within safer opioid supply programs was described by clients and providers as a potential reason for diversion and a barrier to program access. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, evidence suggests that safer opioid supply programs are beneficial to clients through measurable outcomes. However, the available literature has important limitations, including limited inferences about the effectiveness, safety, and potential for diversion within safer opioid supply programs. Further research is needed to support the ongoing evaluation of safer opioid supply programs as one component of a multifactorial response to escalating rates of substance-related harms.

Substance use care innovations during COVID-19: barriers and facilitators to the provision of safer supply at a toronto COVID-19 isolation and recovery site.

BACKGROUND: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an urgent need to establish isolation spaces for people experiencing homelessness who were exposed to or had COVID-19. In response, community agencies and the City of Toronto opened COVID-19 isolation and recovery sites (CIRS) in March 2020. We sought to examine the provision of comprehensive substance use services offered to clients on-site to facilitate isolation, particularly the uptake of safer supply prescribing (prescription of pharmaceutical opioids and/or stimulants) as part of a spectrum of comprehensive harm reduction and addiction treatment interventions. METHODS: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 25 clients and 25 staff (including peer, harm reduction, nursing and medical team members) from the CIRS in April-July 2021. Iterative and thematic analytic methods were used to identify key themes that emerged in the interview discussions. RESULTS: At the time of implementation of the CIRS, the provision of a safer supply of opioids and stimulants was a novel and somewhat controversial practice. Prescribed safer supply was integrated to address the high risk of overdose among clients needing to isolate due to COVID-19. The impact of responding to on-site overdoses and presence of harm reduction and peer teams helped clinical staff overcome hesitation to prescribing safer supply. Site-specific clinical guidance and substance use specialist consults were crucial tools in building capacity to provide safer supply. Staff members had varied perspectives on what constitutes 'evidence-based' practice in a rapidly changing, crisis situation. CONCLUSION: The urgency involved in intervening during a crisis enabled the adoption of prescribed safer supply, meeting the needs of people who use substances and assisting them to complete isolation periods, while also expanding what constitutes acceptable goals in the care of people who use drugs to include harm reduction approaches.

Characteristics, treatment patterns and retention with extended-release subcutaneous buprenorphine for opioid use disorder: A population-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Uptake and retention for opioid agonist treatment (OAT) remains low. Novel extended-release formulations may improve OAT accessibility by reducing the frequency of healthcare visits. Our aim was to examine uptake, characteristics, treatment patterns and retention of individuals initiating extended-release subcutaneous buprenorphine (BUP-ER), a monthly injectable OAT. METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study among adults aged 18+ initiated on BUP-ER between February 3, 2020 and March 31, 2022 in Ontario, Canada. Using administrative health data, we defined continuous BUP-ER use based on repeat injections within a 56-day period and used Kaplan-Meier curves to estimate time on treatment. Among new BUP-ER recipients, we described individual and prescriber characteristics, healthcare utilization and treatment patterns. RESULTS: 2366 individuals initiated BUP-ER. The median time to BUP-ER discontinuation was 183 days (interquartile range: 66-428 days) and 52.0% of individuals were co-prescribed buprenorphine/naloxone at least once throughout the period of BUP-ER receipt. Among individuals who initiated on a dose of 300mg BUP-ER and had three or more injections, 18.8% continued to receive only 300mg doses (N=276 of 1470). Furthermore, 28.6% of those whose dose was reduced to 100mg (N=341 of 1194) had a subsequent dose increase to 300mg. CONCLUSIONS: On average, people initiating BUP-ER discontinue within the first 6 months of treatment. While BUP-ER is likely providing an important OAT option, the high occurrence of discontinuation, supplementation with buprenorphine/naloxone, and frequent dose increases suggest inadequacy of current dosing recommendations among a proportion of individuals.

Initiations of safer supply hydromorphone increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario: An interrupted time series analysis.

AIMS: Calls to prescribe safer supply hydromorphone (SSHM) as an alternative to the toxic drug supply increased during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is unknown whether prescribing behaviour was altered. We aimed to evaluate how the number of new SSHM dispensations changed during the pandemic in Ontario. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective interrupted time-series analysis using provincial administrative databases. We counted new SSHM dispensations in successive 28-day periods from March 22, 2016 to August 30, 2021. We used segmented Poisson regression methods to test for both a change in level and trend of new dispensations before and after March 17, 2020, the date Ontario's pandemic-related emergency was declared. We adjusted the models to account for seasonality and assessed for over-dispersion and residual autocorrelation. We used counterfactual analysis methods to estimate the number of new dispensations attributable to the pandemic. RESULTS: We identified 1489 new SSHM dispensations during the study period (434 [mean of 8 per 28-day period] before and 1055 [mean of 56 per 28-day period] during the pandemic). Median age of individuals initiating SSHM was 40 (interquartile interval 33-48) with 61.7% (N = 919) male sex. Before the pandemic, there was a small trend of increased prescribing (incidence rate ratio [IRR] per period 1.002; 95% confidence interval [95CI] 1.001-1.002; p<0.001), with a change in level (immediate increase) at the pandemic date (relative increase in IRR 1.674; 95CI 1.206-2.322; p = 0.002). The trend during the pandemic was not statistically significant (relative increase in IRR 1.000; 95CI 1.000-1.001; p = 0.251). We estimated 511 (95CI 327-695) new dispensations would not have occurred without the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The pandemic led to an abrupt increase in SSHM prescribing in Ontario, although the rate of increase was similar before and during the pandemic. The absolute number of individuals who accessed SSHM remained low throughout the pandemic.

'I don't chase drugs as much anymore, and I'm not dead': Client reported outcomes associated with safer opioid supply programs in Ontario, Canada.

INTRODUCTION: The ongoing opioid overdose crisis, which has killed over 30,000 people in Canada since 2016, is driven by the volatility of an unregulated opioid drug supply comprised primarily of fentanyl. The Canadian government has recently funded safer opioid supply (SOS) programs, which include off-label prescriptions of pharmaceutical-grade opioids to high risk individuals with the goal of reducing overdose deaths. METHODS: In 2021, we examined the implementation and adaption of four SOS programs in Ontario. These programs use a primary care model and serve communities experiencing marginalisation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with program clients. We present the results of a thematic analysis with the aim of describing clients' self-reported impact of these programs on their health and well-being. RESULTS: We interviewed 52 clients between June and October 2021 (mean age 47 years, 56% men, 17% self-identified Indigenous, 14% living with HIV). Our results indicate multifaceted pathways to improved self-reported health and well-being among clients including changes to drug use practices, fewer overdoses, reduced criminalised activity, improved trust and engagement in health care, and increased social stability (e.g., housing). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Most clients reported that the intervention saved their life because of the reduced frequency of overdoses. Findings suggest that SOS programs improved clients' health outcomes and increase opportunities for engagement in health services. Our results provide insight into the mechanisms behind some of the emergent evidence on the impact of safer supply prescribing.

Trends in varying modes of drug use in opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario from 2017 to 2021.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary data indicate a shift toward inhalation instead of injection in opioid toxicity deaths. Understanding changing modes of drug use is essential to addressing the North American drug toxicity crisis driven primarily by unregulated fentanyl. This study aims to comprehensively characterize this shift across Ontario, Canada. METHODS: We conducted a population-based repeated cross-sectional study of accidental opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2021. For each quarter of the study period, the number and percent of deaths by mode of drug use (inhalation only, injection only, both or other) were reported. Descriptive characteristics were reported in the last two years of the study. RESULTS: There were 6687 accidental opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario over the study period, with a 62.1 % increase in the quarterly number of deaths observed. The prevalence of deaths where inhalation was the only mode of drug use almost doubled, rising from 22.0 % to 43.5 %. There was a corresponding 64.4 % decrease in opioid toxicity deaths with indication of injection alone (29.0 % to 10.3 %). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a shift in mode of drug use toward inhalation that is increasingly contributing to opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario. Understanding the shifts in patterns of opioid use serves to provide essential insights into more effective harm reduction and treatment approaches to address the drug toxicity crisis.

Challenges of implementing safer supply programs in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Canada is experiencing an unprecedented drug toxicity crisis driven by a highly toxic unregulated drug supply contaminated with fentanyl, benzodiazepine, and other drugs. Safer supply pilot programs provide prescribed doses of pharmaceutical alternatives to individuals accessing the unregulated drug supply and have been implemented to prevent overdose and reduce related harms. Given the recent emergence of these pilot programs and the paucity of data on implementation challenges, we sought to document challenges in their initial implementation phase. METHODS: We obtained organizational progress reports from Health Canada, submitted between 2020 and 2022 by 11 pilot programs located in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick. We analyzed the data using deductive and inductive approaches via thematic analysis. Analyses were informed by the consolidated framework for implementation research. RESULTS: We obtained 45 progress reports from 11 pilot programs. Six centres were based in British Columbia, four in Ontario, and one in New Brunswick. Four overarching themes were identified regarding the challenges faced during the establishment and implementation of pilot programs: i) Organizational features (e.g., physical space constraints, staff shortages); ii) Outer contexts (e.g., limited operational funds and resources, structural inequities to access, public perceptions); iii) Intervention characteristics (e.g., clients' unmet medication needs); and iv) Implementation process (e.g., pandemic-related challenges, overly medicalized and high-barrier safer supply models). CONCLUSIONS: Safer supply pilot programs in Canada face multiple inner and outer implementation challenges. Given the potential role of safer supply programs in addressing the drug toxicity crisis in Canada and the possibility of future scale-up, services should be well-supported during their implementation phases. Refining service provision within safer supply programs based on the feedback and experiences of clients and program administrators is warranted, along with efforts to ensure that appropriate medications are available to meet the clients' needs.

Trends in Rates of Opioid Agonist Treatment and Opioid-Related Deaths for Youths in Ontario, Canada, 2013-2021.

Importance: Data suggest that the opioid crisis in North America has recently been reflected in opioid-related mortality among youths. Despite recommendation for its use, youths encounter barriers to accessing OAT, including stigma, burden of witnessed dosing, and lack of availability of youth-oriented services and prescribers comfortable treating this population. Objective: To compare rates of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) and opioid-related mortality between youths aged 15 to 24 years and adults aged 25 to 44 years in Ontario, Canada, over time. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional analysis of rates of OAT and opioid-related deaths between 2013 and 2021 used data obtained from the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, Public Health Ontario, and Statistics Canada. Individuals included in the analysis were aged 15 to 44 years and residing in Ontario, the most populous province in Canada. Exposures: Youths aged 15 to 24 years compared with adults aged 25 to 44 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: OAT (methadone, buprenorphine, and slow-release oral morphine) per 1000 population and opioid-related deaths per 100 000 population. Results: Between 2013 and 2021, 1021 youths aged 15 to 24 years died from opioid toxicity; 710 were male (69.5%). In the final year of the study period, 225 youths (146 male [64.9%]) died from opioid toxicity, and 2717 (1494 male [55.0%]) were dispensed OAT. Over the study period, the rate of opioid-related deaths among youths in Ontario increased 369.2% from 2.6 to 12.2 per 100 000 population (48 to 225 total deaths) and the rate of OAT use decreased 55.9% from 3.4 to 1.5 per 1000 (6236 to 2717 individuals). For adults aged 25 to 44 years, the rate of opioid-related deaths increased 371.8% from 7.8 to 36.8 per 100 000 (283 to 1502 deaths), and the rate of OAT increased 27.8% from 7.9 to 10.1 per 1000 population (28 667 to 41 200 individuals). Trends for youths and adults persisted across both sexes. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study suggest that opioid-related deaths are increasing among youths while OAT use is paradoxically declining. The reasons for these observed trends require further investigation, including a consideration of changing trends in opioid use and opioid use disorder among youths, barriers to OAT, and opportunities to optimize care and reduce harms for youths who use substances.

Assessing the impact of the slow-release oral morphine drug shortages in Ontario, Canada: A population-based time series analysis.

BACKGROUND: Slow-release oral morphine (SROM) is used to manage pain, and as opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Between 2017 and 2021 in Canada, several drug shortages occurred for Kadian© (SROM-24). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of these shortages on people's ability to remain on this medication. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective population-based time series analysis of SROM-24 dispensed between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2021, in Ontario, Canada. Using interventional autoregressive integrated moving average models (ARIMA) models, we evaluated the association between SROM-24 drug shortages and treatment discontinuation. Analyses were also stratified by the SROM-24 indication (pain or OAT). RESULTS: We identified 22,479 SROM-24 recipients, of which one-third (33.9%) were aged 65 or above and just over half (51.9%) were female. In our primary analysis of monthly SROM-24 discontinuation, we observed a significant sustained monthly increase following the shortages in November 2019 (+0.29%/month; 95% CI: 0.16%, 0.43%; p < .001) with significant sudden, temporary changes following the shortages in March 2020 (+2.00%; 95% CI: 0.95%, 3.05%; p < .001), July 2021 (+3.53%; 95% CI: 2.20%, 4.86%; p < .001), and August 2021 (+4.98%; 95% CI: 3.49%, 6.47%; p < .001). Similar results were observed in our stratified analyses, with sustained high rates of discontinuation among people accessing SROM-24 as OAT. CONCLUSIONS: The SROM-24 shortages resulted in significant treatment disruptions across all recipients. These findings have important implications for those with few treatment alternatives, including people using SROM-24 as OAT who are at risk of adverse outcomes following treatment disruptions.

Disease-related stigma among people who inject drugs in Toronto amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Stigma overwhelmingly affects people who inject drugs. The COVID-19 pandemic posed unique challenges for people who inject drugs, who are already stigmatized as being "dangerous and spreading disease." The present study explored ways in which stigma was experienced by a sample of people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada following COVID-related public health precaution measures. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with people who inject drugs (n = 24) recruited from supervised consumption sites in Toronto, Canada. The semi-structured interview guide focused on the impact of COVID-19 on participants' health and social well-being. Interviews took place six-months after initial COVID-19 precautions (September-October 2020). We used thematic analysis to examine findings, with stigma being an emergent theme. Results: Participants described heightened acts of stigma after COVID-19 restrictions were implemented, including feeling treated as "diseased" and the cause of COVID-19's spread. They reported being less likely to receive emergency care during events such as overdoses. Participants perceived increased disease-related stigma evident through actions of stigma, including amplified dehumanization by the public, others avoiding all contact with them, and more discrimination by police and hospital systems. Conclusion: Participants provided specific examples of how stigmatizing behaviors harmed them after COVID-19 precautions began. It is plausible that stigma contributed to the dramatic increase in fatal overdoses, difficulty accessing housing, and further difficulty accessing needed healthcare in our setting. Integrating evidence-based harm reduction approaches in areas where stigma is evident might offset harms stemming from disease-related stigma and mitigate these harms during future public health emergencies.

Impact of safer supply programs on injection practices: client and provider experiences in Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVES: Fentanyl has contributed to a sharp rise in the toxicity of the unregulated drug supply and fatal overdoses in Canada. It has also changed injection practices. Injection frequency has increased as a result and so has equipment sharing and health-related risks. The aim of this analysis was to explore the impact of safer supply programs on injection practices from the perspective of clients and providers in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: The data set included qualitative interviews with 52 clients and 21 providers that were conducted between February and October 2021 across four safer supply programs. Interview excerpts discussing injection practices were extracted, screened, coded and then grouped into themes. RESULTS: We identified three themes, each theme corresponding to a change in injection practices. The first change was a decrease in the amount of fentanyl used and a decrease in injection frequency. The second change involved switching to injecting hydromorphone tablets instead of fentanyl. Finally, the third change was stopping injecting altogether and taking safer supply medications orally. CONCLUSION: Safer supply programs can contribute to reducing injection-related health risks in addition to overdose risks. More specifically, they have the potential to address disease prevention and health promotion gaps that stand-alone downstream harm reduction interventions cannot address, by working upstream and providing a safer alternative to fentanyl.

Association of Illicit Fentanyl Use with Injection Risk Practices Among People who Inject Drugs.

We investigated the association between fentanyl injection frequency and sharing of injection equipment among people who inject drugs. We surveyed 249 people who inject drugs in Toronto in 2019. We estimated predicted probabilities of associations between fentanyl injection frequency and injection risk practices. In prior 6 months, 117 (47.0%) of participants injected fentanyl daily, 49 (19.7%) less than daily, and 78 (31.3%) did not inject fentanyl. Participants who injected fentanyl daily shared syringes more often than those not injecting fentanyl (25.0% vs. 4.9%; χ2 = 11.54, p = 0.0007). Participants who injected fentanyl daily (42.4% vs. 11.3%; χ2 = 18.05, p < 0.0001) and less than daily (37.2% vs. 11.3%; χ2 = 5.88 p = 0.02) shared cookers more often than those not injecting fentanyl. Participants who injected fentanyl daily (30.2% vs. 9.7%; χ2 = 9.05, p = 0.003) and less than daily (30.3% vs. 9.7%; χ2 = 4.11, p = 0.04) shared filters more often than those not injecting fentanyl. No differences in probabilities of sharing equipment were detected between participants who injected fentanyl daily and less than daily. People using fentanyl reported injection practices that increased risk for infectious disease transmission.

Spotting as a risk mitigation method: A qualitative study comparing organization-based and informal methods.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the similarities and differences of organization-based and informal spotting (remote supervision of substance use) from the perspectives of spotters and spottees across Canada. METHODS: Spotters and spottees who spot informally and for organizations were recruited across Ontario and Nova Scotia. We interviewed 20 informal and 10 organization-based participants by phone using semi-structured interviews between 08/2020 and 11/2020. Participants were asked about each methods benefits and limitations. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Benefits of informal spotting included its ability to strengthen social connections and foster autonomy in overdose response planning. The lack of support for informal spotters created stress and burnout. Organization-based spotters enjoyed the spotting training and support provided. However, regulations surrounding having to call ambulance in overdose events deterred many people from wanting to work for or call these services. CONCLUSIONS: Both organization-based and informal spotting have a role in mitigating harms associated with the overdose crisis. Moving forward, further research is needed on how to optimize these services for all people who use drugs in varying jurisdictions internationally.

Responding to Ontario's Overdose Crisis in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the overdose crisis in Canada. Using data from ICES and the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, the authors characterized changing patterns of medication use and health services utilization during the pandemic. This analysis suggests that responses to the overdose crisis must confront the rapidly changing unregulated drug supply with a tailored response that addresses varied population needs, expands accessible treatment and harm reduction services and responds to the missed opportunities for engagement and support within various healthcare settings.

Clinical outcomes and health care costs among people entering a safer opioid supply program in Ontario.

BACKGROUND: London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC) launched a safer opioid supply (SOS) program in 2016, where clients are prescribed pharmaceutical opioids and provided with comprehensive health and social supports. We sought to evaluate the impact of this program on health services utilization and health care costs. METHODS: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis of London, Ontario, residents who received a diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD) and who entered the SOS program between January 2016 and March 2019, and a comparison group of individuals matched on demographic and clinical characteristics who were not exposed to the program. Primary outcomes were emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions, admissions for infections and health care costs. We used autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to evaluate the impact of SOS initiation and compared outcome rates in the year before and after cohort entry. RESULTS: In the time series analysis, rates of ED visits (-14 visits/100, 95% confidence interval [CI] -26 to -2; p = 0.02), hospital admissions (-5 admissions/100, 95% CI -9 to -2; p = 0.005) and health care costs not related to primary care or outpatient medications (-$922/person, 95% CI -$1577 to -$268; p = 0.008) declined significantly after entry into the SOS program (n = 82), with no significant change in rates of infections (-1.6 infections/100, 95% CI -4.0 to 0.8; p = 0.2). In the year after cohort entry, the rate of ED visits (rate ratio [RR] 0.69, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.90), hospital admissions (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.74), admissions for incident infections (RR 0.51, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.96) and total health care costs not related to primary care or outpatient medications ($15 635 v. $7310/person-year; p = 0.002) declined significantly among SOS clients compared with the year before. We observed no significant change in any of the primary outcomes among unexposed individuals (n = 303). INTERPRETATION: Although additional research is needed, this preliminary evidence indicates that SOS programs can play an important role in the expansion of treatment and harm-reduction options available to assist people who use drugs and who are at high risk of drug poisoning.

Frequency of fatal and non-fatal overdoses and response to grief and loss among people who inject drugs: An unexplored dimension of the opioid overdose crisis.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the relationship between overdose events and grief and loss responses among people who inject drugs. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, tablet-based survey with a convenience sample of people who inject drugs (n = 249) from four community-based harm reduction programs in Toronto in 2019. We examined the association between frequency and types of overdose events (own, witnessed, death of significant person) in the last 6 months with grief and loss responses, identified using latent class analysis. RESULTS: Among respondents, 70 (48.6 %) reported 2 or more personal overdoses, 173 (79.5 %) witnessed 2 or more overdoses, and 69 (41.4 %) experienced overdose deaths of 2 or more significant persons in the last 6 months. We identified 2 latent classes with probability of membership of 38.6 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]=31.0, 46.7) for medium/low intensity of responses to grief/loss and 61.4 % (95 % CI= 53.3, 69.0) for severe responses to grief/loss. In adjusted Poisson regression models with robust standard error estimators, severe responses to grief/loss were associated with exposure to two or more own overdoses (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.44; 95 % CI=1.12, 1.84, p-value=0.004), and having witnessed one (PR=2.09; 95 % CI=1.05, 4.15, p-value=0.04) or witnessed two or more overdoses (PR=2.25; 95 % CI=1.24, 4.09, p-value=0.008). Severe grief/loss responses were also more common in individuals exposed to all three types of overdose events (PR=2.42; 95 % CI=1.08, 5.41, p-value=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Cumulative overdose events were associated with severe responses to grief and loss. Bereavement interventions should consider the complex nature of grief and loss following overdoses.