Flawed reports can harm

The case of supervised consumption services in Alberta

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8899366
AutoresGinetta Salvalaggio (0000-0002-6597-5998, University of Alberta, autor de correspondencia), Hannah L Brooks (0000-0002-5400-3755), Hannah Brooks, Caine (0000-0001-5561-8156, University of Victoria), Vera Caine, Marilou Gagnon (0000-0003-4214-3088, University of Victoria), Jenny Godley (0000-0002-0421-2559, University of Calgary), Stan Houston (0000-0003-4544-4425, University of Alberta), Mark C Kennedy (0000-0003-1186-2151, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use), Mary Clare Kennedy, Brynn Kosteniuk (0000-0003-0125-3539, University of Alberta), Jamie Livingston (Saint Mary's University), Rebecca J Haines-Saah (0000-0003-4174-3102, University of Calgary), Rebecca Saah, Kelsey A Speed (0000-0002-5728-5209, University of Alberta), Kelsey Speed, Karen Urbanoski (0000-0001-7017-3546, University of Victoria), Dan Werb (0000-0003-0614-9386, University of California San Diego), Elaine Hyshka (0000-0001-5785-8890, University of Alberta)
Año2023
Volumen114
Número6
Páginas928-933
Fecha de publicación2023-11-06
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCanadian Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0008-4263 • E-ISSN: 1920-7476
EditorialSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.17269/s41997-023-00825-x
PMID37930628
OpenAlexW4388422399
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas8

Supervised consumption services have been scaled up within Canada and internationally as an ethical imperative in the context of a public health emergency. A large body of peer-reviewed evidence demonstrates that these services prevent poisoning deaths, reduce infectious disease transmission risk behaviour, and facilitate clients' connections to other health and social services. In 2019, the Alberta government commissioned a review of the socioeconomic impacts of seven supervised consumption services in the province. The report is formatted to appear as an objective, scientifically credible evaluation of these services; however, it is fundamentally methodologically flawed, with a high risk of biases that critically undermine its authors' assessment of the scientific evidence. The report's findings have been used to justify decisions that jeopardize the health and well-being of people who use drugs both in Canada and internationally. Governments must ensure that future assessments of supervised consumption services and other public health measures to address drug poisoning deaths are scientifically sound and methodologically rigorous. Health policy must be based on the best available evidence, protect the right of structurally vulnerable populations to access healthcare, and not be contingent on favourable public opinion or prevailing political ideology

Consumption (sociology · Context (archaeology · Environmental health · Geography · Government (linguistics · Harm · Health care · Political science · Politics · Public health · Public policy · Public relations · Social science · Social Welfare · Sociology · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Opioid Use Disorder Treatment · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes