Ethics and Harm Reduction – A providers perspective.

with

Amanda Porter, Host

and

Dr. Tiffany O’Donnell, Family Physician, Wije’winen Health Centre

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you think there is a moral difference between providing people who use drug with a safe supply of drugs and providing them with clean needles and a safe space to inject drugs? Why/why not?
2. A lot of effort has gone into addressing stigma associated with substance use disorder, including efforts to make people look at it as a health condition and not a moral failure. Yet, stigma towards people who use drugs persist.
3. Why do you think that is the case?
4. Can you think of different ways to address stigma associated with substance use disorder?

RESOURCES

Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction:Lived and Living Experience | Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction [accessed March 17, 2025]

Jonson, B. Changing Her Tune. DoctorsNS Magazine, Vol 3 (2), June 2023, p16-17. https://doctorsns.com/news-events/doctorsns/archive/2023-06-01

Jonson, B. Dr. Tiffany O’Donnell takes a new approach to addiction medicine. DoctorsNS, Blogpost, August 2023. https://yourdoctors.ca/blog/health-care/dr-tiffany-odonnell/

Knaak, S., Romie, C., Mercer, S., Stuart, H.: Harm Reduction, Stigma and the Problem of Low Compassion Satisfaction: Tensions on the front-lines of Canada’s opioid crisis. Journal of Mental Health and Addition Nursing. Vol 3 (1) , May 2019. https://utppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.22374/jmhan.v3i1.37

McKay M., Coldwell, M., Graham, S., Upham, K.: Harm Reduction Position Paper. Doctors Nova Scotia (2023) harm-reduction-position-paper2023.pdf

Nova Scotia Health: What is Harm Reduction. Harm reduction | Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions [accessed March 17, 2025]