Public Attitudes Towards Safer Drug Use Practices in British Columbia (BC)Despina Tzemis, Margot Kuo, Jane BuxtonBC Centre for Disease Control Harm Reduction ProgramEmail: outreach@towardtheheart.comWebpage: towardtheheart.com

Outline

•Who we are•Background•Objective•Methods•Results•Discussion•Conclusion

BC Harm Reduction Program

• BC CDC coordinates the BC HRSS and DOAP Committee.

• Committee: ministry of health , health authorities, first nations input, & people who use drugs, among other stakeholders.

• Develop evidence-based policies, training resources, & distribute supplies to reduce drug related harms.

• Continually evaluate program and identify areas of concern & research - public attitudes toward harm reduction.

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Background

• The media and vocal opponents often negatively

represent safer drug use initiatives based on

ideology, not evidence

Background• Media can influence policy, and so can public

opinion. (Boyd & Carter, 2010; MacNeil & Pauly, 2010)

• Policies:▫ Represent the public’s views ▫Should be evidence based▫Need to reduce harms

Objectives• To better understand the British Columbian’s

attitudes toward harm reduction strategies and services

• Areas of interest: ▫ harm reduction (general)▫ needle distribution ▫ needle distribution in your community ▫ safer inhalation equipment

Methods• August 2011 conducted survey by random digit

dialing.

• Socio-demographic information collected: sex, age, education level, & residing geographic location.

• Questions: general harm reduction, needle distribution, & safer inhalation equipment distribution.

• 2000 completed surveys.

• Statistical methods: weighted variable, multivariate logistic regression

Results• Our sample (n=2000):

▫ 50% female▫ 3 age groups:

(28%) 19-34 years (37%) 35-54 years (35%) 55+ years

▫ Education: (7%) >high school (30%) completed university

▫ Region: 20% of respondents from each HA

Harm Reduction bivariate (n=1749)Variables Support

n=1372OpposeN=377

p-value

Age 19 – 34 35 – 54 55+

396 (83.0%)524 (80.1%)452 (73.1%)

81(17.0%)130 (19.9%)166 (26.9%)

<0.001

Gender n (%) Female Male

712 (80.6%)659 (76.2%)

171 (19.4%)206 (23.8%) 0.024

Education n (%) < high school = high school = some post secondary = cert/diploma = University

79 (68.1%)251 (76.3%)243 (79.4%)356 (76.9%)443 (82.8%)

37 (31.9%)78 (23.7%)63 (20.6%)

107 (23.1%)92 (17.2%)

0.005

Health Authority n (%) VCH IH FH VIHA NH

378 (82.2%)229 (83.3%)431 (71.5%)249 (81.4%)85 (81.7%)

82 (17.8%)46 (16.7%)

172 (28.5%)57 (18.6%)19 (18.3%)

<0.001

Harm Reduction multivariate (n=1749) Variable OR 95%CI AOR 95%CI p-value

Age 19-34 (referent) 35-54 55+

0.83 0.61, 1.120.56, 0.41, 0.75

0.80 0.59, 1.100.54 0.40, 0.73

0.165<0.001

Sex F (referent) vs M 0.77 0.61, 0.97 0.74 0.58, 0.93 0.011

Education =University (referent) <high school =high school =some post secondary =cert/ diploma

0.45 0.28, 0.700.67 0.48, 0.940.80 0.56, 1.140.69 0.59, 0.94

0.46 0.29, 0.730.77 0.54, 1.080.86 0.60, 1.230.69 0.50, 0.95

0.0010.1320.4000.022

Health Authority VCH (referent) IH FH VIHA NH

1.07 0.72, 1.590.54 0.41, 0.730.95 0.62, 1.380.99 0.57, 1.72

1.19 0.79, 1.770.56 0.41, 0.751.06 0.73, 1.551.10 0.63, 1.94

0.407<0.0010.7550.741

Discussion

•High support for safer drug use practices

•Trends predictive of previous findings

•Targeted knowledge exchange

•Limitation: negative media re glass stem distribution

Conclusion

BC supports Harm Reduction!

Harm Reduction works!

Policies should reflect this!

Reference• Boyd, S. & Carter, C. (2010). Methamphetamine

Discourse: Media, Law, and Policy. Canadian Journal of Communication, 35: 219-237.

• MacNeil, J. & Pauly, B. (2010). Impact: a case study examining the closure of a large urban fixed site needle exchange in Canada. Harm Reduction Journal, 7:11.

Acknowledgment

•HR service providers and health care providers across BC for the work they do

•People who use drugs and community members for advocating for safer drug use policies

Thank you!

•Questions?

•Contact information:despina.tzemis@bccdc.ca

Webpage: www.towardtheheart.com