Harm Reduction Research
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to better understand how people who use drugs (PWUD) acquire health and harm reduction information in order to make safety resources more easily accessible.
Literature Review
After my initial literature review I found that the problems faced by people who use drugs (PWUD) are multifaceted and require nuance and empathy to be properly addressed. PWUD face stigma and fear when trying to access resources about safe drug use, which influences their information seeking behaviors. Various harm reduction resources exist, however many structural and systemic obstacles impede use of these resources. Many PWUD are at higher risk of HIV, lacing, and overdose, but accessing resources about these risks comes with stigma, scrutiny, judgement, and potential consequences like loss of shelter. Understanding the information seeking behaviors of PWUD allows us to better understand how we can ensure accurate, safe, useful information is accessible to communities of PWUD.
Research from the Harm Reduction Journal explores the effectiveness of secondary distribution of HIV self test kits. Before reading this I had no idea there were HIV self test kits, but upon further research you can aquire test kits on Amazon Prime These self test kits can save lives and are as easy to aquire as a covid test. Their research showed prominsing results for secondary distribution when paired with information resources. This website will eventually have a tab providing informational and educational information for HIV and HIV self test kits.
Taylor and Francis research group investigated the feasability and value of drug checking programs and explored the best ways to disseminate drug supply information. Their focus was on drug supply surveilance relying on donated samples and toxicological testing to gain an understanding of the existing drug supply. While toxicoligy labs are hard to come by, drug testing kits are possible to aquire online. Their findings reveal that people have a prefrence for physical paper results and information. Drug supply surveilance may be more difficult within the limits of this research and website, however I can provide resources aquiring test kits so that others can research further and PWUD can test before use. You can aquire comprehensive test kits at Bunk Police.
Aside from academic sources, there are several online forums and resources that provide harm reduction information and materials. Many of the available online based resources are inaccessible to many PWUD due to the prerequisite knowledge and internet literacy required to find and identify resources. Many of these resources also come with flaws in accuracy due to the community based nature of these resources. The information on these forums can be useful and lifesaving to PWUD, however misinformation and medical myths can spread like wildfire through these communities and eventually into local PWUD communities. Many people who access harm reduction information on the internet also show privacy concerns opting to use anonymous accounts and anonymity tools for accessing this information. This is another prerequisite for seeking harm reduction information. Understanding the information seeking behaviors of PWUD and the risks associated (ie misinformation and myths). If we understand the information seeking behaviors of PWUD we can place safe and accurate information in the places they see information. There is also a balance that must be struck between harm reduction and enabling. Often times harm reduction forums like “Dread” serve a dual purpose enabling access to drug marketplaces. On one hand, these marketplaces allow for safe access to safe drugs and drug testing materials, but on the other hand this access could enable more frequent and extreme drug use and addiction. This creates a fine line to walk when sharing harm reduction resources and enabling the harm we intend to reduce. In order to properly balance this issue, the best thing we can do is collect and compile the safe and useful information into a single, easily accessible hub for PWUD.