Geoff Bardwell
Biographic Data
| ID | 1736124 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Geoff Bardwell |
| GIVEN NAMES | Geoff |
| FAMILY NAME | Bardwell |
| SIGNATURE | BARDWELL G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Waterloo |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3368-7681 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 35 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 35 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Policing interactions and outcomes under shifting decriminalization policies in British Columbia
In January 2023, British Columbia (BC) implemented a three-year decriminalisation initiative, removing criminal sanctions for adults possessing up to 2.5 g of certain illegal drugs. In May 2024, the policy was amended, restoring penalties for possession in public spaces. Although these shifting legal frameworks may affect how people who use drugs experience policing, limited research has examined their perspectives. As part of a national evaluati…
Rethinking the Drug Pleasure Versus Harm Binary via Chaosmos
Research on opioids predominantly focuses on risks and harms, and there is less research on pleasures, including those experienced while overdosing (e.g., nodding off and losing consciousness). While it is important to identify positive experiences from opioids, static and binary thinking about the use of opioids and their effects (i.e., pleasure vs. harm) does not capture the turbulences of the lived experience. This article draws from an interp…
Rethinking Community-Based Research in Rural Canadian Settings
Community-based research (CBR) offers a participatory framework that emphasizes ethical research practices and prioritizes the needs of the communities involved; however, much of the existing guidance is grounded in urban contexts and does not account for the social and structural conditions of rural settings. Rural communities are disproportionately affected by the ongoing overdose crisis, yet little research has examined how rurality reshapes p…
How have liberalized drug policies impacted international policing practices across urban and rural jurisdictions? A scoping review
Several major challenges remain prevalent in the facilitation of drug liberalization globally, including inadequate training of policy changes and/or enforcement procedures, lack of options for diversion, unintended increases in workload, and overall conflicting duties of police as authoritative figures providing support services. Despite the potential of policy reform to lessen structural inequalities in policing, racial inequalities remained ev…
What can feminist relational discourse analysis offer the field of drug policy
Prohibitionary drug policy continues to be used as a tool for facilitating colonial power and the social regulation of people who use drugs, especially racialized and Indigenous peoples, women and gender diverse peoples, and those of lower socio-economic status. Some drug policy research aims to illuminate the experiences of people who use drugs with hopes of eliciting change; however, there is a history of research that has had negative effects …
Between solitude and safety
Given the ongoing overdose crisis, it is imperative to investigate how physical environments facilitate or protect against overdose in order to inform place-based interventions that seek to reduce risk. This scoping review synthesizes qualitative literature on the built environment and overdose to provide indepth perspectives and experiences of decision-making and drug use navigation. Studies published between January 1980 and October 2024 that d…
Necropolitics of the North
The SCS closure has exacerbated already limited support for PWUD in Sudbury and increased their exposure to a variety of risks and harms. Necropolitics of the state deem PWUD as unworthy of living, resulting in structural violence and the creation of death worlds for PWUD
Experiences of stigmatization among people who use drugs in the initial year of British Columbia's drug decriminalization policy
While decriminalization has the potential to reduce stigma and increase comfort in accessing critical harm reduction and substance use treatment services among people who use drugs, achieving these outcomes requires additional efforts. Public awareness campaigns, targeted anti-stigma education, and broader systemic changes were suggested by participants as essential to address stigmatization in BC. Strengthening these areas could enhance access t…
Perceptions and experiences with police among people who use drugs in the initial year of British Columbia's decriminalization of illegal drugs policy
Research Summary On January 31, 2023, British Columbia (BC) launched a 3‐year pilot initiative decriminalizing the possession of up to 2.5 g of select illegal drugs. The policy aims to reduce stigma, address racial disparities in drug law enforcement, and improve police relations with people who use drugs (PWUD). As part of a national evaluation, we conducted qualitative interviews with 100 PWUD who reported using drugs at least three times a wee…
Mapping socio-spatial contexts of drug use and service access
Greater Sudbury, Canada, is the largest geographical city in the province of Ontario. With urban and rural characteristics, Sudbury's population density is sparse, yet it features an active downtown core. Sudbury's only supervised consumption site (SCS) closed in 2024. We examine the socio-spatial contexts of drug use and access as a governance outcome of service placement, transportation access, and policing. By mapping and identifying areas of …
The decriminalization of illicit drugs in British Columbia
This evaluation will draw on implementation science research practices to evaluate and understand the full impacts of this novel drug policy experiment. Results will be widely disseminated through manuscripts, reports, presentations, and infographics, which will be adapted and tailored for specific audiences. The protocol identifies several anticipated challenges and limitations. This evaluation's evidence-based findings will be poised to offer p…
Repurposing prescribed hydromorphone
Our findings demonstrate how people who use drugs are maximizing the benefits of tablet hydromorphone distribution to address unmet needs. Hydromorphone distribution programs represent a public health and harm reduction intervention that is usefully addressing experiences related to structural vulnerabilities (such as inadequate pain management), which are often overlooked amongst stigmatized groups
Opportunities and challenges for implementing drug checking services in British Columbia, Canada
Alongside structural reforms that address the underlying contextual factors that influence implementation (e.g., decriminalization of drugs, increased funding for DCS), centering community expertise throughout implementation is critical to the success of DCS. Our findings provide important insights into how BC can successfully implement systems-level harm reduction interventions and offer insights for other jurisdictions in their implementation o…
The machine doesn't judge
People who use illegal drugs experience routine surveillance, including in healthcare and harm reduction settings. The MySafe Project - a safer supply pilot project that dispenses prescription opioids via a biometric vending machine - exists in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The machine scans a participant's palmprint and has a built-in camera that records every machine interaction. The aim of this paper is to understand participants'…
Challenges of implementing safer supply programs in Canada during the Covid-19 pandemic
Safer supply pilot programs in Canada face multiple inner and outer implementation challenges. Given the potential role of safer supply programs in addressing the drug toxicity crisis in Canada and the possibility of future scale-up, services should be well-supported during their implementation phases. Refining service provision within safer supply programs based on the feedback and experiences of clients and program administrators is warranted, …
A scoping review of qualitative research on barriers and facilitators to the use of supervised consumption services
Requiring help injecting among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada
Overdose Prevention and Housing
Primary care embedded within permanent supportive housing for people who use substances
Marginally housed people who use drugs and alcohol (PWUD/A) face barriers in accessing healthcare services, which may be improved by providing healthcare in housing settings. This case study examines the experiences of healthcare access amongst PWUD/A who live in a permanent supportive housing model in Vancouver, Canada. This model has an embedded multidisciplinary clinic providing in-reach services. Thirty participants were recruited via posters…
I couldn't live with killing one of my friends or anybody”
The Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services Cohort Study of People Who Inject Drugs in Toronto, Canada (OiSIS-Toronto)
The Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services cohort in Toronto, Canada (OiSIS-Toronto) is an open prospective cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID). OiSIS-Toronto was established to evaluate the impacts of supervised consumption services (SCS) integrated within three community health agencies on health status and service use. The cohort includes PWID who do and do not use SCS, recruited via self-referral, snowball sampling, and communi…
The need to prioritize research, policy, and practice to address the overdose epidemic in smaller settings in Canada
People need them or else they're going to take fentanyl and die
Home and health among people living with HIV who use drugs
The effect of injecting alone on the use of drug checking services among people who inject drugs
Addressing Intersecting Housing and Overdose Crises in Vancouver, Canada
People need them or else they're going to take fentanyl and die
That's a double-edged sword”
Supervised consumption services (SCS) have been integrated into community health centres in Toronto. We draw on qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations to examine the implementation contexts of these SCS. Participants' perspectives on the integration of SCS within CHCs were mixed. Some participants identified the benefits of integrated SCS such as convenience and access to other health and social services. However, others identified …
Negotiating space & drug use in emergency shelters with peer witness injection programs within the context of an overdose crisis
The machine doesn't judge
People who use illegal drugs experience routine surveillance, including in healthcare and harm reduction settings. The MySafe Project - a safer supply pilot project that dispenses prescription opioids via a biometric vending machine - exists in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The machine scans a participant's palmprint and has a built-in camera that records every machine interaction. The aim of this paper is to understand participants'…
Overdose Prevention and Housing
The need to prioritize research, policy, and practice to address the overdose epidemic in smaller settings in Canada
Primary care embedded within permanent supportive housing for people who use substances
Marginally housed people who use drugs and alcohol (PWUD/A) face barriers in accessing healthcare services, which may be improved by providing healthcare in housing settings. This case study examines the experiences of healthcare access amongst PWUD/A who live in a permanent supportive housing model in Vancouver, Canada. This model has an embedded multidisciplinary clinic providing in-reach services. Thirty participants were recruited via posters…
The Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services Cohort Study of People Who Inject Drugs in Toronto, Canada (OiSIS-Toronto)
The Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services cohort in Toronto, Canada (OiSIS-Toronto) is an open prospective cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID). OiSIS-Toronto was established to evaluate the impacts of supervised consumption services (SCS) integrated within three community health agencies on health status and service use. The cohort includes PWID who do and do not use SCS, recruited via self-referral, snowball sampling, and communi…
The impact of risk environments on LGBTQ2S adults experiencing homelessness in a midsized Canadian city
The impacts of social, structural, and physical environments on homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S) adults were examined. Qualitative interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically. Participants discussed the ways in which social, structural, and physical environments negatively affected their experiences of homelessness, particularly those in emergency shelters. Discriminatio…
Syringe sharing among people who inject drugs in London, Canada
Assessing support for supervised injection services among community stakeholders in London, Canada
The perspectives of structurally vulnerable people who use drugs on volunteer stipends and work experiences provided through a drug user organization
Negotiating space & drug use in emergency shelters with peer witness injection programs within the context of an overdose crisis
Addressing Intersecting Housing and Overdose Crises in Vancouver, Canada
Syringe sharing among people who inject drugs in London, Canada
“We don’t got that kind of time, man. We’re trying to get high!”
Defining (LGBTQ) Community
Historical research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities in Canada has overwhelmingly focused on communities in larger urban settings. This article builds on this research by examining the experiences, histories, and defining characteristics of LGBTQ community in London, Ontario. Qualitative interviews with twenty participants were completed to acquire in-depth perspectives on how LGBTQ community is defined and ex…
Gender and the overdose crisis in North America
That's a double-edged sword”
Supervised consumption services (SCS) have been integrated into community health centres in Toronto. We draw on qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations to examine the implementation contexts of these SCS. Participants' perspectives on the integration of SCS within CHCs were mixed. Some participants identified the benefits of integrated SCS such as convenience and access to other health and social services. However, others identified …
The impact of risk environments on LGBTQ2S adults experiencing homelessness in a midsized Canadian city
The impacts of social, structural, and physical environments on homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S) adults were examined. Qualitative interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically. Participants discussed the ways in which social, structural, and physical environments negatively affected their experiences of homelessness, particularly those in emergency shelters. Discriminatio…
Home and health among people living with HIV who use drugs
The effect of injecting alone on the use of drug checking services among people who inject drugs
I couldn't live with killing one of my friends or anybody”
The Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services Cohort Study of People Who Inject Drugs in Toronto, Canada (OiSIS-Toronto)
The Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services cohort in Toronto, Canada (OiSIS-Toronto) is an open prospective cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID). OiSIS-Toronto was established to evaluate the impacts of supervised consumption services (SCS) integrated within three community health agencies on health status and service use. The cohort includes PWID who do and do not use SCS, recruited via self-referral, snowball sampling, and communi…
The need to prioritize research, policy, and practice to address the overdose epidemic in smaller settings in Canada
People need them or else they're going to take fentanyl and die
Requiring help injecting among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada
Overdose Prevention and Housing
Primary care embedded within permanent supportive housing for people who use substances
Marginally housed people who use drugs and alcohol (PWUD/A) face barriers in accessing healthcare services, which may be improved by providing healthcare in housing settings. This case study examines the experiences of healthcare access amongst PWUD/A who live in a permanent supportive housing model in Vancouver, Canada. This model has an embedded multidisciplinary clinic providing in-reach services. Thirty participants were recruited via posters…
Challenges of implementing safer supply programs in Canada during the Covid-19 pandemic
Safer supply pilot programs in Canada face multiple inner and outer implementation challenges. Given the potential role of safer supply programs in addressing the drug toxicity crisis in Canada and the possibility of future scale-up, services should be well-supported during their implementation phases. Refining service provision within safer supply programs based on the feedback and experiences of clients and program administrators is warranted, …
A scoping review of qualitative research on barriers and facilitators to the use of supervised consumption services
The decriminalization of illicit drugs in British Columbia
This evaluation will draw on implementation science research practices to evaluate and understand the full impacts of this novel drug policy experiment. Results will be widely disseminated through manuscripts, reports, presentations, and infographics, which will be adapted and tailored for specific audiences. The protocol identifies several anticipated challenges and limitations. This evaluation's evidence-based findings will be poised to offer p…
Repurposing prescribed hydromorphone
Our findings demonstrate how people who use drugs are maximizing the benefits of tablet hydromorphone distribution to address unmet needs. Hydromorphone distribution programs represent a public health and harm reduction intervention that is usefully addressing experiences related to structural vulnerabilities (such as inadequate pain management), which are often overlooked amongst stigmatized groups
Opportunities and challenges for implementing drug checking services in British Columbia, Canada
Alongside structural reforms that address the underlying contextual factors that influence implementation (e.g., decriminalization of drugs, increased funding for DCS), centering community expertise throughout implementation is critical to the success of DCS. Our findings provide important insights into how BC can successfully implement systems-level harm reduction interventions and offer insights for other jurisdictions in their implementation o…
The machine doesn't judge
People who use illegal drugs experience routine surveillance, including in healthcare and harm reduction settings. The MySafe Project - a safer supply pilot project that dispenses prescription opioids via a biometric vending machine - exists in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The machine scans a participant's palmprint and has a built-in camera that records every machine interaction. The aim of this paper is to understand participants'…
HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (30 works) · Medicine (22 works) · Opioid Use Disorder Treatment (21 works) · Sociology (17 works) · Qualitative research (15 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (10 works) · Nursing (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Harm reduction (9 works)