Knowledge of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act and possession of a naloxone kit among people recently released from prison
International Journal of Prisoner Health
ISSN: 1744-9200
Article publication date: 25 August 2021
Issue publication date: 25 January 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to describe knowledge of Canada’s Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSDOA) and take home naloxone (THN) training and kit possession among people being released from provincial correctional facilities in British Columbia.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted surveys with clients of the Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentoring program on their release. The authors compared the characteristics of people who had and had not heard of the GSDOA and who were in possession of a THN kit.
Findings
In this study, 71% people had heard of the GSDOA, and 55.6% were in possession of a THN kit. This study found that 99% of people who had heard of the GSDOA indicated that they would call 911 if they saw an overdose. Among people who perceived themselves to be at risk of overdose, 28.3% did not have a THN kit. Only half (52%) of participants had a mobile phone, but 100% of those with a phone said they would call 911 if they witnessed an overdose.
Originality/value
The authors found that people with knowledge of the GSDOA were likely to report that they would call 911 for help with an overdose. Education about the GSDOA should be a standard component of naloxone training in correctional facilities. More than one in four people at risk of overdose were released without a naloxone kit, highlighting opportunities for training and distribution. Access to a cellphone is important in enabling calls to 911 and should be included in discharge planning.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge that this study and the Unlocking the Gates program were conducted across the unceded traditional territories of 198 First Nations. The authors honour and mourn those who have died as a result of the overdose epidemic that has swept across British Columbia. The authors also gratefully acknowledge funding support for the Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentor program from the First Nations Health Authority and from individual philanthropic donors, as well as funding for the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act evaluation project provided by the British Columbia Ministry of Health. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of this study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish the results.
Citation
McLeod, K.E., Xavier, J., Okhowat, A., Williams, S., Korchinski, M., Young, P., Papamihali, K., Martin, R.E., Monaghan, A., Sharifi, N. and Buxton, J.A. (2022), "Knowledge of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act and possession of a naloxone kit among people recently released from prison", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 43-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-04-2021-0033
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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