Harm Reduction Flashcards
Harm Reduction definition
interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviors without necessarily extinguishing the problematic health behaviors completely or permanently.”
“…any positive change as a person defines it for him or herself.”
1st principle of harm reduction
accepts, for better or worse, that licit and illicit drug use is part out our world and chooses to work to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn them
2nd principle
understands drug use as a complex, mult-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from severe use to total abstinence, and acknowledges that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others
3rd principle
establishes quality of individual and community life and well-being, not necessarily cessation of all drug use, as the criteria for successful interventions and policies
4th principle
calls for the non-judmental non-coercive provison of services and resources to people who use drugs and the communities in which they live in order to assist them in reducing attendant harm
5th principle
ensures that people who use drugs and those with a history of drug use routinely have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed to serve them
6th principle
affirms people who use drugs (PWUD) themselves as the primary agents of reducing the harms of their drug use and seeks to empower PWUD to shar info and support each other in strategies which meet their actual conditions of use
7th principle
recognizes that the realties of poverty,class,racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination, and other social inequalities affect both people’s vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing with drug-related harm
8th principle
Does not attempt to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and danger that can be associated with illicit drug use
what medications are used for opiod abuse disorder?
methadone (agonist), buprenorphine (partial agonist), naltrexone (antagonist)
what is the evidence basis of opiod abuse disorder medications?
show higher retnetions in care vs. treamtent without meds and placebo
agonists medicines show decreased overdose mortality
better maternal and infant outcomes
How do medication for opiod use disorder reduce harm? (common sense)
safer and more regulated products - increase survival and decrease infection risk
decrease illicit opiod use and criminal activity
increase ability to gain and maintain employment
decrease drug use triggers
what is naloxone?
opiod antagonist that binds to recptors and kicks off other opiods (nasal spray, IM, SQ, or IV)
How does naloxone reduce harm?
reverses life-threatening respiratory depression from opiods
precipitates opiod withdrawal (extremely uncomfortable)
will not harm someone not experiencing opiod overdose
what does SBIRT stand for?
Screening
Brief Intervention
Referral to Treatment
