Characterizing peer roles in an overdose crisis: preferences for peer workers in overdose response programs in emergency shelters

Many settings in North America are experiencing overdose epidemics due to the proliferation of opioids and other drugs adulterated with fentanyl and related analogs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017; National Drug Early Warning System Coordinating Center, 2016). According to provisional data from the United States, opioid-related overdose contributed to over 67,000 deaths from September 2016 to August 2017, a 13.3% increase from the previous year (Ahmad et al., 2018). In Canada, the overdose crisis has been particularly severe in the province of British Columbia (BC), leading to the declaration of a public health emergency in 2016 when the province experienced approximately 1000 drug-related overdose deaths.
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Short communication Source Type: research