Today, August 31st, is International Overdose Awareness Day. The annual campaign, started in 2001, is part of a global movement to end overdoses, end stigma surrounding drug use, and to acknowledge the grief of the families and friends who’ve lost loved ones to drug overdoses.
BC-CfE Commemorates International Overdose Awareness Day Read More »
Started December 1, 1988, World AIDS Day annually raises awareness of the AIDS pandemic and is a day to mourn those who have died of the disease. The World Health Organization chose to focus on “Global solidarity, resilient HIV services” as its theme for this year. As of 2019 there were 38 million people living
BC-CfE Marks Record Achievements for World AIDS Day 2020 Read More »
The Best-practices in Oral Opioid AgoniSt Therapy (BOOST) Annual Congress was held last month amidst the dual public health emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis. Presenters at the congress shared how their teams are adapting their practices for the pandemic, how healthcare teams can better integrate the voices of families of those with opioid use disorder (OUD), and also shared ideas on how to support and improve retention for clients on opioid agonist therapy (OAT).
Teams from across BC join the BOOST QI Network Annual Congress virtually Read More »
New research that will help improve sample quality and patient experience in COVID-19 testing was recently published by BC-CfE research assistants Natalie Kinloch and Aniqa Shahid. Kinloch and Shahid are also PhD students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University under the supervision of SFU Professor and BC-CfE laboratory director Dr. Zabrina
New BC-CfE research seeks to improve COVID-19 nasal swab collection procedures Read More »
More than 1,300 people have died from illicit drug poisoning in BC so far this year. Some months saw a death toll greater than double the same month the previous year, and June alone had 183 people die of an overdose. This was the highest monthly overdose related death toll in BC’s history.
BOOST and Coast Mental Health Collaboration Improves Lives of Those Living With OUD Read More »
The number of deaths caused by drug poisoning far exceeds the deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia. The BC Coroners Services report states that 1,202 people have died this year from illicit drugs. Many of these fatalities occurred in a private residence when people with an opioid use disorder (OUD) were using
Young adult pilot OAT clinic indicates harm reduction services saves lives Read More »
With BC in the midst of two public health emergencies, one for COVID-19 and one for drug overdose deaths, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) has just launched a new Quality Improvement Network for its BOOST Collaborative (Best-Practices in Oral Opioid agoniSt Therapy). Led by Dr. Rolando Barrios, the BC-CfE’s Senior Medical Director,
Inspired by the dramatic reduction in HIV rates in BC, the BOOST Collaborative is working to increase the number of people on effective opioid agonist therapy across BC
The BC-CfE’s BOOST (Best practices in Oral Opioid agoniSt Therapy) Collaborative hosted its fourth learning session of the year-long project, drawing collaborators from across BC
BOOST Collaborative hosts final learning session Read More »
When opioid overdoses and deaths reached stunning proportions in 2016 and 2017, and a public health crisis was declared, Dr Cole Stanley recognized that he and his colleagues might be able to better serve their patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). Having recently completed quality improvement training by the Specialist Services Committee’s Physician Quality Improvement
Dr Cole Stanley: helping patients with Opioid Use Disorder Read More »
