Improving Harm Reduction Services: A Qualitative Study on the Perspectives of Highly Marginalized Persons Who Inject Drugs in Montreal

Abstract

Harm reduction (HR) is an alternative to the moralization of drug use and a pragmatic public health approach aimed at minimizing harms associated with use. This study sought to gain the perspectives of persons who inject drugs (PWID) on the adequacy of services provided by HR organizations in Montreal. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were conducted with 30 participants. Some of the key advantages of HR perceived by participants include access to injection equipment, psychosocial support, and reduced social isolation. However, many wanted more opportunities for social insertion and greater value to be placed on their knowledge and life experiences (e.g., experiential knowledge of the street scene, drug use, sex work, or homelessness). This study suggests that PWID who access HR services in Montreal are interested in paid work opportunities in environments that promote power sharing, and activities that are conducted and managed by and for them.

An examination of harm reduction strategies in Oxycodone and Adderall buyer feedback on AlphaBay

“…Knowledge sharing is a key component of the harm reduction philosophy (Friedman et al., 2007). Previous research has shown that this can be challenging in street‐level harm reduction programs because most staff members do not buy or use drugs which hampers client willingness to engage in open knowledge‐sharing processes (Poliquin et al., 2023). This suggests that sharing experiences with other users about buying and using drugs could be a form of harm reduction that is more accessible on DNM platforms.…”