Harm reduction, rather than quantities of drugs seized or individuals convicted, is a more useful way of prioritising activities to improve the lives of citizens in the uk extending our reach, hm government 2009 although entrenched markets may be difficult to disable, they can be guided by enforcement action so that they do the least. Harm reduction is grounded in justice and human rights it focuses on positive change and on working with people without judgement, coercion, discrimination, or requiring that they stop using drugs as a precondition of support. The vast majority of the harm reduction literature focuses on the harms of drug use and on specific harm reduction strategies, such as syringe exchange, rather than on the harm reduction philosophy as a whole. Harm reduction encompasses a range of health and social services and practices that apply to illicit and licit drugs. Harm reduction paper randy jones substance abuse counselling january 18, 2012 this paper will discuss the principles and position of harm reduction.
The essence of harm reduction is the recognition that treatment must start from the clients needs and personal goals and that all change that. A harm reduction initiative has not failed on the basis that abstinence is not achieved, but it also does not exclude abstinence as a longterm goal. A multidisciplinary theory of drugrelated harm reduction. Harm reduction treatment is a controversial method of rehabilitation usually in regards to drug addiction and sex education. An evidenceinformed approach to enhancing harm reduction supply distribution in bc. We understand that people use drugs for a variety of reasons and we work hard to help each client understand their. A brief history of disease theory and harm reduction treatment in the us. Rather than respond with condemnation or enforcement, harm reduction focuses on minimizing the harmful effects of mental illness and addiction, both on the individual and on society. Targeted at risks and harms harm reduction is a targeted approach that focuses on specific risks and harms. Because harm reduction demands that interventions and policies designed to serve drug users reflect specific individual and community needs, there is no universal definition of or formula for implementing harm reduction. Harm reduction journal publishes research focusing on the prevalent patterns of psychoactive drug use, the public policies meant to control them, and the.
This may be achieved by prevention through education around. Harm reduction coalition advances policies and programs that help people address the adverse effects of drug use including overdose, hiv, hepatitis c, addiction, and incarceration. It will also examine the public perception of the user, which has created an ineffective philosophy. The concept of harm reduction or harm minimization is not a precise one. Harm reduction therapy is an integration of wellestablished evidencebased practices. Each individuals relationship with drugs and alcohol is different substance misuse develops from a unique interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. The wisdom to know the difference harm reduction handout. Harm reduction is any action that attempts to reduce the harm of substance or other behaviors harm reduction has a top down public health component and a grass roots user driven approach.
Harm reduction policies are used to manage behaviors such as recreational drug use and sexual activity in numerous settings that range. It encourages people to build strengths and to gain a sense of con. However, hrc considers the following principles central to harm reduction practice. Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction national health care for the homeless council. For further information on harm reduction and its benefits refer to appendix 1c. Harm reduction includes policies, programs and practices that aim to keep people safe and minimize death, disease, and injury from high risk behaviour, especially psychoactive substance use. Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies that reduce the negative consequences of drug use.
Harm reduction has also been used in primary and secondary prevention programs aimed at reducing unintended pregnancies. Harm reduction is a concept that was introduced to social issues dating back to the 1980s as a way to address the hiv epidemic. Secondly, there is the question of treatment focus. Harm reduction is a set of policies, programmes, services and actions that aim to reduce the harm to individuals, communities and society related to drugs, including hiv infection. Principles of harm reduction harm reduction coalition harm. It incorporates a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to managed use, to abstinence. The pros and cons of harm reduction treatment drug rehab. Harm reduction approaches have been effective in reducing morbidity and mortality in these adult populations. A brief history of disease theory and harm reduction. The author was instrumental in applying harm reduction principles to substance abuse and has used these. Harm reduction is a public health strategy that was developed initially for adults with substance abuse problems for whom abstinence was not feasible. Most frequently associated with substance use, harm reduction also applies to any decisions that have negative consequences associated with them. A framework for a harm reduction approach to drugrelated.
Oct 14, 2012 one example of this is the harm reduction theory. Being the loved one of a person with an alcohol or other drug problem can be excruciating. Most importantly, my paper seeks to recognize the harm of harm reduction. Thus, harm reduction approaches can more lexibly accommodate affected individuals and communities speciic needs than other topdown, theoryoriented approaches. Harm reduction in canada and internationally harm reduction started in merseyside, england in the mid1980s. Analysis of supervised injection site acceptability august 2016 pdf, 342kb harm reduction in bc.
Understand how harm reduction theory is applied clinically. Principles of harm reduction harm reduction coalition. Principles the harm reduction approach to drugs is based on a strong commitment to public health and human rights. Harm reduction treatment for heroin addiction alcoholism. Harm reduction is a humane approach that breaks down the providerclient role barrier and allows people to provide their peers with the re sources and tools they need to cope with the risks of drugs, sex, and violence, kersh nar concluded. Theory, definition and approaches to working with lgbt populations 3 harm reduction therapy is a motivational approach to increasing peoples desire for greater health and wellbeing and increasing their motivation and capacity to achieve a healthier life. Harm reduction principles for healthcare settings harm. Harm reduction is a paradigmshifting idea that has the potential to significantly improve the treatment of problem substance users. Pdf this is 16slide powerpoint file if you have trouble downloading it, try saving it first, then loading it up with powerpoint. Harm reduction united nations office on drugs and crime. Harm reduction strategies seek to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with substance misuse for those for whom abstinence is not an immediate andor feasible goal. Although harm reduction was originally and most frequently associated with substance use, it is increasingly being applied to a multitude of other behavioral disorders. Massive counterassault stifles harm reduction alternatives to abstinence.
Harm reduction programs offer a number of potential benefits to drug users, their families, and the public. The aftermath of the attack on rand by the nca now the ncadd, the national council on alcoholism and drug dependence was poison for nonabstinence approaches to addiction. May 07, 2020 harm reduction journal publishes research focusing on the prevalent patterns of psychoactive drug use, the public policies meant to control them, and the. The harm reduction model, which is based on public health principles, takes a preventative stance to treatment with an aim to reduce the health, social, and economic harms associated with substance use or other unhealthy behav. American psychiatric association 1994 diagnostic and statistical manual of mental. Harm reduction theory, as it relates to drug policies, is the idea that, instead of prohibiting drug use, prevention and treatment is the key to end the war against drugs cdc, summary of the top ten facts on legalization.
Harm reduction is key in the prevention of hiv infection among people. The questions below will help you prepare and think about your answers to the form on, we encourage you. Consistent with the health care for the homeless approach to care, harm reduction strategies are useful for clinicians of all disciplines to help effect. Harm reduction refers to interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviors without necessarily extinguishing the problematic health behaviors completely. The term harm reduction can be used to describe the philosophical beliefs that underlie strategies and programs, or it can be used to describe the. The goal of harm reduction models is to reduce atrisk, moderate, and highrisk behaviors often associated with substance use disorders. Although there is no definitive definition of harm reduction, harm reduction is easily described as reducing harm of a risky behavior.
Harm reduction is an innovative approach to substance abuse treatment that focuses on reducing the harmful consequences of drug use. Harm reduction policies are used to manage behaviors such as recreational drug use and sexual activity in numerous settings that range from services. This chapter provides the first conceptual framework for theory, practice and research into drugrelated harmreduction. Farsalinos, in analytical assessment of ecigarettes, 2017. Bc harm reduction strategies and services policy and guidelines.
Oct 24, 2017 harm reduction refers to interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviors without necessarily extinguishing the problematic health behaviors completely. The goal of harm reduction in the context of drug use is to reduce the harms, such as transmission of. Harm reduction, or harm minimization, is a range of public health policies designed to lessen the negative social andor physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. The vast majority of the harm reduction literature focuses on the harms of drug use and on specific harm reduction strategies, such as syringe exchange, rather than on the harm. The phrase is so imprecise, in fact, that it has sometimes been exploited by those who oppose harm reduction policies and used to characterize their own agendas and policies. Harm reduction is an evidencebased, clientcentred approach that seeks to reduce the health and social harms associated with addiction and substance use, without necessarily requiring people who use substances from abstaining or stopping. Harm reduction in nursing practice april 2009 more than just needles.
Harm reduction keeps focus of attention is the damage done by the behavior and not the behavior itself. Harm reduction therapy center this article describes and illustrates the ongoing development of a treatment for working with families and friends of drug users using harm reduction principles. But those who eventually want to stop using drugs should seek out some form of treatment. Harm reduction the philosophy of we want to find out about members of our communities relationship is with harm reduction. Pdf a multidisciplinary theory of drugrelated harm reduction. Harm reduction is the strategy, policy, and philosophy of reducing risk and thus the morbidity and mortality associated with an action or condition. Pdf challenges to implementing the harm reduction approach. At its core, harm reduction is a public health effort to save lives, and presents an alternative perspective between the disease model and the criminal. Social research and harm reduction alcohol and drug researchers have in general taken a very positive view of harm reduction, and in many contexts the harm reduction paradigm has been presented as a pragmatic, humane and scientific approach to the problems related to substance use.
An example of a peerbased program to work with highrisk youth was presented by. Examples of harm minimization public health policies could be the safe sex programs in schools, or the legalization of prostitution and sex work. Harm reduction benefits people who use drugs, their families and the community. Harm reduction models rhihub substance use disorder toolkit. Harm reduction as a model of intervention and treatment. Harm reduction has a variety of meanings to different people, which has made developing one general definition very difficult. In this article, harm reduction is explored, historically, in terms of a range of dimensions, including. People experience profound helplessness, frustration, anger, and fear. A theory of harm reduction harm reduction international. This manual has been provided as a tool to assist you in your service to help reduce the. Pragmatic strategies the pragmatic aspect of harm reduction refers to the application of what.
Written by stanton peele last updated on november 4th, 2019. Challenges to implementing the harm reduction approach article pdf available in journal of social work practice in the addictions 83. Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of public health policies designed to lessen the negative social andor physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. The outlawing of contested practices and incarceration of those who engage in them is put forward as. Harm reduction is an umbrella term for interventions aiming to reduce the problematic effects of behaviors. Harm reduction is practiced in a variety of ways by different providers.
Harm reduction recognizes that the high risk behavior may continue despite the risks. Harm reduction strategies with people who engage in selfinjury ian f. This paper discusses the user side of harm reduction, focusing to some extent on the early responses to the hivaids epidemic in each of four sets of localitiesnew york city, rotterdam, buenos aires, and sites in central asia. The community model follows an interpretation of harm reduction modified specifically to address treatment issues facing people with mental illness or dual diagnoses of mental illness and substance abuse. Harm reduction can help move a person from a state of chaos to a state of control. Harm reduction is a set of nonjudgmental policies and programs which aims to provide andor enhance skills, knowledge, resources and support that people need to live safer, healthier lives. Harm reduction is a humane approach that breaks down the providerclient role barrier and allows people to provide their peers with the re sources and tools they need to cope with the risks of drugs, sex, and violence, kersh. Regardless of the definition, harm reduction is a philosophy, approach, and a set of principles that combined help achieve certain social and political goals. Gabriela zapataalma, lcsw cadc harm reduction strategies ian. As its name suggests, harm reduction is concerned with reducing the harms that can accompany drug. Explore how to analyze the spectrum of harm reduction efforts, including pros and cons of its. Harm reduction is now used amongst a variety of health professionals and lobbyists.