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A national network that supports research on the abuse of prescription drugs and illicit drugs indicates that there are several questions to ask about a drug that reverses overdoses.
The Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Abuse indicates that the opioid crisis required a rapid response from public health, but did not necessarily allow the assessment of significant problems related to the distribution of naloxone.
Each province and territory offers free injectable naloxone, while Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories also provide the nasal form for people at risk of overdose.
Most jurisdictions also offer naloxone kits to family or friends who could use it to try to save someone's life.
The research initiative indicates in a report that naloxone's distribution capacity in some regions is limited due to geographic issues and drug regulations, including that some health professionals, such as pharmacists, need to provide.
The report involving researchers, service providers, policy makers and people who consume or have used drugs also mentions the training needed to effectively respond to an overdose and how to administer naloxone.
It is also necessary to have evidence regarding the benefits of wide distribution of the drug as opposed to specific populations at risk of overdose, the report says.
"There are also ethical considerations, such as how to collect reliable health data while protecting low-level access environments and respect for the anonymity of patients, and on how to use it. opportunity to provide naloxone kits to minors, "says the report.
The federally funded initiative indicates that it is also important to identify the most effective overdose response strategy beyond naloxone administration, including chest compressions, rescue breaths, 911 and the order in which these measures are to be taken.
"Consolidating existing data, suggesting areas for future research, and building consensus among stakeholders can help improve access to naloxone and ensure equitable results in Canada," the report says.
More than 11,500 people have had a fatal overdose in Canada between January 2016 and December 2018, reported the Public Health Agency of Canada last week.
BEFORE CHRIST. launched its state-funded take-home naloxone program in 2012, and Ontario began doing the same in 2013, followed by Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2015.
The Canadian press
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