Vancouver Injection Site: Reduced Death Rates & Risk Behaviors - Essay Sample

Introduction

The introduction of the injection site in Vancouver will result to reduced death rates and risk behaviors as a result of supervised drug use. Through the provision of safe injection kits in the facilities, chances of transmission of diseases through shared needles are reduced; for instance, HIV and HCV transmission risk are reduced (Jozaghi 2). Accordingly, safe injection sites (SIS) that are a community- based have significantly impacted positively on the community by reducing the pressure of medical services provision. Following increased opioid injections death-related cases in Vancouver, SIS introduction ultimately will reduce the number of death through supervision (DelVillano 112). This paper examines how the introduction of SIS in Vancouver will minimize mortality and risks associated behaviors due to uncontrolled drugs injection.

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Safe Injection Sites in Vancouver

Safe injection sites have significantly improved health and reduced emergency related to drug injections due to professional supervision in the facilities. The provision of these facilities in Vancouver will increase safety due to clean equipment, including filters, cookers, and syringes, are applied. Besides, with the known consequences of a slight overdose of illicit drugs used in injections, supervision by nurses reduces the risks of death associated with overdose as they can intervene in time (Lefor 2). Although the safety of the use of illicit drugs in the SIS is `in question, facilities' purpose is to reduce the inherent nature associated with the unsafe use of the drugs rather than fighting addiction. In doing so, the problem of common needle sharing and disease transmission is reduced (Lefor 1).

Increasing the number of safe injection site provides legal sanctioning for addicts. Additionally it creates a safer environment in which drugs pre-obtained and used are supervised by health experts. Besides, SIS reduces emergency services such as demand for ambulances will decrease as a result of pre-checked drug use (Bouvier et al. 2). Apart from the positive impact of SIS on individual users, it minimizes the chances of federal drug violation, for instance, the provision of no drug use seemingly is to protect the interest of drug dealers through the operation that is undercover (Kreit 415). Safe injection site reinforces security and safety as fear associated with overdose death among the injection drug users IDUs will be reduced; for instance, the introduction of SIS in North America saw the positive impact in the society. Mortality that was always associated with overdose was reduced with most users agreeing that death cases have reduced (Jozangi 4). Along with reducing the number of emergency cases, InSite in North America has resulted in decreasing syringe disposal in the public. Additionally, the result of the introduction of the InSite facility has reduced the death of IDUs as compared to other cities without (Jozangi 5). Supervision in drug injection is more significant than any other measure that can be used in helping users. Monitoring is essential as it helps reducing the chances of sharing of needles hence minimizes the chances of infections such as HCV and HIV (Jozangi 5). However, through InSite, individual users are able to be monitored by professional nurses, and by doing this, diseases that can be transmitted through sharing are curbed. A new introduction of safe injection sites will mean increased services in injection process, counseling, staff, and nurses. The perception of services offered in the Insite is equally important as setting up new Insite centers in Vancouver as it will help transform the IDUs (Jozangi 5).

Accordingly, safe injection sites reduce the risk of threatening infections among users. Additionally, the introduction of SIS in the Vancouver country will address linked harm to the consumption of drugs (Lefor 2). Although the intention of the opening of SIS centers in Vancouver is not to fight addiction caused by injection drugs, it documents benefits that are useful to users, including programs for treatment and detox referrals (Lefor 1). With an understanding that addressing the issue of addiction and illicit drug use is limited, addressing harm at the secondary level is critical as addicts expose their addiction, making it possible for addressing. Besides treating the secondary issues associated with injection drugs, access to sterile pieces of equipment, trained professions, a stable environment, and a clean environment helps in reducing transmission of infection and death associated with overdose (Lefor 2). Thus, in setting up a new SIS centers in Vancouver will ultimately be significant in addressing mortality and infection transmission.

A study of the use of injection and willingness in supervised InSite among adult opioid users shows that individual users show great willingness to SIF use that have demonstrated to be effective in minimizing fentanyl-attributable overdoses. It is evident that drug trafficking combating has not been so effective in the United States; in fact, the rate of use of the drug is increasing due to reduced prices of illicit drugs, further exacerbating mortality and risk of overdose. Introducing injection site will save the community from undercover drug trafficking. Thus, considering that abstinence-based policies do not apply evidence-based treatment services are effective which are only to be offered by Safe injection site (Bouvier 6). Accordingly, the same is the case with Vancouver; the establishment of evidence-based SIS services will see a reduction in mortality and behavioral risks in the community. Additionally, the facilities have been recognized to offer refuge for users as they escape violence, death and theft hence transforming the community.

The safe injection sites are among the pillars' control of drugs. For effective control of drug use, incorporation of SIS is vital along with treatment, prevention, and enforcement (Kreit 420). Through user participation in the InSite, consequences associated with drug use are suppressed through counseling offered in the facilities by professions. Additionally, the review by Bouvier et al., (7) suggests that, considering the statistic reporting of the research - six in ten participant were will to use the service in Rhode Island, more than eight users in ten were willing to use the SIS services, and overdose risk factor is in association with acceptability of SIS acceptability at a higher rate; all these findings of the research indicated that young individuals who showed increased accessibility of the SIS services were the ones at more significant risks of midnight overdose of drug injections (Bouvier 7). Ultimately, the introduction of a supervised injection site will see a reduction in deaths and behavioral risks associated with uncontrolled illicit drug use. The same notion applies to Vancouver since the most affected group in a population is young individual drug users. Introduction of new, more InSite will reduce the increased mortality due to drug injections along with reducing transmission of infections. Although safe injection site do not all operate at equal specifics, they all embrace standard guidelines including offering services to a targeted population to make sure the common objective of the facilities is achieved, that is; provision of a space safe enough for users through supervisions, reducing abuse of drugs in public places, and amenities improvement in drug-affected areas (Keith 421). Secure injection facilities do not supply medications to users. Instead, an allowance is made for users with pre-obtained drugs just to offer supervision of use.

Since monitoring is done by experts, they incorporate other services, including counseling, education, and safe use of pieces of equipment (Keith 422). Systematic literature review of various studies has indicated increased safety results not only to the individual users but also to the society with reduced mortality rates. Investigations further revealed that setting up new safe injection facilities is efficacious in bringing close individual drug users in marginalized areas to seek guidance (Keith 422). In so doing, the promotion of injections that are safe benefits the public by reducing syringes disposal in society and public illicit injection along with saving the country from increased emergency incidents. Incorporation of the facilities in Vancouver, therefore, will translate into the observed increased safety outcomes.

Conclusion

Safe injection facilities will not only reduce transmission of HCV and HIV diseases in Vancouver but also save lives. Even though a concern of the effectiveness of InSite is debatable, the overall evidence in support of the safe injection facilities can be observed in an increasing number of facilities in the world. Vancouver is not an exception when coming to illicit injection drug abuse. Therefore setting up more new facilities in the country will not only see positive outcomes on individual users. Supervision in the site will reduce the increasing overdose mortality, reduce deaths associated with injection transmitted infections, reduce government expenditure through increased overdose emergencies, and educate the users on the safe use of drug injection in preventing associated risk behaviors.

Works Cited

Bouvier, Benjamin A., et al. "Willingness to use a supervised injection facility among young adults who use prescription opioids non-medically: a cross-sectional study." Harm reduction journal 14.1, 2017, pp.1-9 retrieved from https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-017-0139-0

DelVillano, Sarah, et al. "At-a-glance Supervised Injection Services: a community-based response to the opioid crisis in the City of Ottawa, Canada." Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada: research, policy, and practice 39.3, 2019, pp.112 -115 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6478052/

Jozaghi, Ehsan, and Martin A. Andresen. "Should North America's first and only supervised injection facility (InSite) be expanded in British Columbia, Canada?." Harm reduction journal 10.1, 2013, pp.1-9. https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7517-10-1

Kreit, Alex. "Safe Injection Sites and the Federal Crack House Statute." BCL Rev. 60, 2019, pp. 415-466 https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3737&context=bclr

Lefor, Scott. "Safe Injection Sites and the Ethic of Harm Reduction" Ethics & Medics: Vol. 44, no. 5, 2019, pp. 1-4 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00243639