Congratulations to Foundry Research Scientist Dr. Danya Fast and team on their recent successful Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant!
This three-year project, Adapting, Producing, and Testing a Youth Overdose Prevention Toolkit Through Community-Based Participatory Methods, responds to the need for overdose interventions that are designed specifically for youth and their families/caregivers. As shared by Danya,
"It’s crucial that overdose prevention interventions are aligned not just with the evidence, but with the everyday, lived realities of diverse youth and their families and caregivers. By creating interventions alongside people with lived experience at every stage, we ensure that these tools are relevant, appropriate, acceptable and have real world impact."
The team will engage youth with lived experience of substance use and families/caregivers of youth who use substances to develop a youth overdose prevention toolkit that can be used by a range of providers in both acute and community health care settings. The toolkit will have information on naloxone, take-home drug testing strips, harm reduction education and medications for opioid use disorder, alongside other youth and family/caregiver-identified priorities such as mental health care. The toolkit will empower service providers to present information and resources in a way that is accessible, practical and impactful for youth and families/caregivers. Importantly, it will guide service providers on how to take a relationship-centred approach to care and overdose prevention.
The project will be conducted at sites in Massachusetts, Québec and British Columbia, including Foundry centre engagement, to ensure it is adaptable for multiple contexts.
Foundry Co-Executive Director Dr. Steve Mathias is a co-investigator on the project and recognizes the need for better youth overdose interventions. Steve said,
"Here in BC, overdose is the leading cause of non-congenital death in youth. Interventions for young people – co-developed with youth with lived and living experience and their families – are critical to addressing youth overdose in our province."
The team learned the grant was successful in January, and work is now underway – check Foundry Research Updates, Bluesky and LinkedIn for updates on this project and other research at Foundry. As noted by Danya,
"Youth substance use and overdose are two of the most challenging and important public health issues of our time. It is critical that youth, families, caregivers and providers are able to collaborate meaningfully on care and support. Our toolkit will facilitate this collaboration and help providers to develop the relationships with youth, families, and caregivers that are truly lifesaving in the current moment."