Patterns of substance use and knowledge of harm reduction among post-secondary students

Opioid overdoses remain a significant public health issue in British Columbia. BC’s Centre for Disease Control observed the high water mark of the crisis in January of 2017 and March 2018, when the province saw an annualized death rate of nearly 3.5/100,000. Today, the death rate has subsided to 1.45/100,000 (BCCDC, 2019). Irvine et al. (2019) attribute this decrease to a suite of harm reduction measures introduced by public health authorities.

Although substance use patterns in post-secondary institutions are a well-studied phenomenon, there is little recent and local evidence to capture a useful description of students’ substance use in relation to recent mounting risks from the opioid crisis in BC. As such, the objective of this study is to explore students’ substance use patterns, and their understanding of related harm-reduction information.

The study established a clear understanding of students’ current substance use patterns and harm reduction practices across the Greater Vancouver Area. The researchers will use the data to support and reinforce harm reduction intervention programs throughout the college. The study was conducted at Douglas College in British Columbia. Douglas College is a public post-secondary institution located in Coquitlam and New Westminster. The college offers a variety of career programs, transfer course credits, continuing education, and associate degrees (Douglas College, 2019). It is home to 24,801 students, with 4,210 of those students being international students (Institutional Effectiveness Office, 2019). It currently does not offer on-site health services nor residency for students making the researchers’ harm reduction interventions essential on campus. Funding was obtained through The Research and Scholarly Activity Project Fund at Douglas College.