A group of Selkirk College rural pre-medicine students wants to know what you think about harm reduction related to drug use.
Logan Campbell, Sean Chambers and Benjamin Koenig are all third-year pre-med students. They have developed a survey as part of a curriculum requirement to complete a community-service based project.
They chose the subject matter because harm reduction is a hot topic right now across a number of fields and because local service providers thought data on local attitudes would be helpful for them.
All rural pre-medicine students need to complete a similar project and instructor Takaia Larsen says one goal of the requirement is to supply research to local service providers that they may not be able to do themselves with the resources they have available.
Harm reduction is a strategy and set of policies and interventions intended to minimize the negative consequences that come along with high-risk behaviours such as substance use, without necessarily requiring people accessing such services to stop engaging in the high-risk behaviour.
The survey is designed to assess local attitudes and the demographics behind specific ideas. It is anonymous and confidential. Participants are encouraged to select the answer that best represents their situation, even if it is not an exact match, but they are allowed to skip questions.
The researchers say the project is not political and does not have an agenda, rather, it is a formal research project approved by Selkirk College’s ethics board.
The survey will close in early March. You can take it at: shorturl.at/quHTW.
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