Résumés
Abstract
People who use drugs (PWUD) experience stigma when accessing hospital-based healthcare, including emergency care. Rural settings are of particular concern, due to heightened social-structural stigma toward PWUD in smaller communities. These barriers have been exacerbated further by recent narratives in media and political attention on the risks to healthcare providers when exposed to PWUD using substances while in hospital. Nurses’ voices have been used directly and indirectly to influence political discourses to raise moral panic regarding workplace exposure to second-hand smoke from unregulated substances (e.g., fentanyl and methamphetamine). Immediate collective nursing action is required to protect nurses’ professional and ethical obligations and ensure safe and stigma-free access to hospital care for rural PWUD in the current political climate in British Columbia, Canada.
Keywords:
- occupational exposure,
- nursing profession,
- substance use conditions,
- drug policy,
- advocacy
Résumé
Les personnes qui consomment des drogues (PUD) font l’objet d’une stigmatisation lorsqu’elles accèdent aux soins de santé en milieu hospitalier, y compris aux soins d’urgence. Les régions rurales sont particulièrement concernées en raison de la stigmatisation sociale et structurelle accrue à l’égard de ces personnes dans les petites communautés. Ces obstacles ont été amplifiés par les récents récits des médias et de l’attention politique sur les risques encourus par les prestataires de soins de santé lorsqu’ils sont exposés à des PUD qui consomment des drogues pendant leur hospitalisation. La voix du personnel infirmier a été instrumentalisée, directement et indirectement, pour influencer les discours politiques et susciter une panique morale face à l’exposition sur le lieu de travail à la fumée secondaire de substances non réglementées (par exemple, le fentanyl et la méthamphétamine). Le climat politique actuel en Colombie-Britannique au Canada exige une action collective immédiate de la part du personnel infirmier afin de protéger ses obligations professionnelles et éthiques et d’assurer un accès sûr et libre de toute stigmatisation aux soins hospitaliers pour les PUD dans les zones rurales.
Mots-clés :
- exposition professionnelle,
- profession de soins infirmiers,
- troubles liés à l’utilisation de substances,
- politique en matière de drogues,
- plaidoyer
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Parties annexes
Biographical notes
Kate Hodgson is a nurse practitioner who resides on traditional Tla’amin territory on the Sunshine Coast of BC. She provides low-barrier primary care and substance use treatment to people with intersecting complexities. She is a board member of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association.
Amanda Lavigne is a clinical nurse specialist on the Substance Use Team with Interior Health. Amanda is a leader in substance use program development and clinical expert in substance use care.
Geoff Bardwell is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Bardwell’s research focuses on substance use in rural, Northern, and smaller community settings.
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Parties annexes
Notes biographiques
Kate Hodgson est infirmière praticienne et demeure sur le territoire traditionnel des Tla’amin, sur la Sunshine Coast de la Colombie-Britannique. Elle fournit des soins primaires à faible obstacle et un traitement de la toxicomanie à des personnes souffrant de complexités croisées. Elle est membre du conseil d’administration de I’Association des infirmiers et infirmières en réduction des méfaits.
Amanda Lavigne est infirmière clinicienne spécialisée au sein de l’équipe de lutte contre la toxicomanie d’Interior Health. Amanda est un chef de file dans l’élaboration de programmes de lutte contre la toxicomanie et une experte clinique en matière de soins liés à la toxicomanie.
Geoff Bardwell est professeur agrégé à l’École des sciences de la santé publique de l’Université de Waterloo. Ses recherches portent sur la consommation de substances en milieu rural, dans le Nord et dans les petites communautés.