Session: Exploring Harm Reduction Perceptions Among Persons Who Use Drugs and Service Providers: Reimagining Harm Reduction Practice and Implications for Care Systems (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Harm reduction programs, such as syringe service programs or overdose injection sites, play an essential role in addressing the adverse health consequences associated with substance use. Importantly, research shows harm reduction programming is an effective option in preventing serious injury, infection and death associated with drug use. While harm reduction programs have expanded across the US over the past several decades, there are still geographical locations and areas of practice where harm reduction practice has yet to be fully accepted, and abstinence-oriented treatment remains the standard of care. Placing trafficking survivors, women of color, rural service providers, and rural people who use drugs at the center of inquiry, the three papers in this symposium advance knowledge on perceptions of harm reduction among communities and individuals that are left out of analysis in this area. Together, these studies offer critical insights into the limitations of abstinence-only treatment and the potential of trauma-informed, non-punitive approaches of care that are solidly grounded in harm reduction frameworks.

The first two papers in this symposium examine the role of harm reduction in the lives of trafficking survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women of color, noting that conventional forms of substance use treatment fail to incorporate trauma-informed practices that address the complex trauma that women who use drugs (WWUD) have experienced. This paper analyzes feedback from qualitative interviews centering the voices of WWUD seeking to understand their perceptions of the negative consequences of drug use, which may diverge from the perceptions of staff at treatment clinics. The second paper, using qualitative data with trafficking survivors who use drugs, explores the understandings survivors have of harm reduction, with a focus on examining how harm reduction can serve as a vital entry point into the broader human services system by offering a safe and non-judgmental space with support connecting to outside resources.

The third paper provides a complementary perspective to the prior papers by exploring how substance use treatment staff and participants in a rural and politically conservative state understand harm reduction. Specifically, this study investigates how rural communities perceive and practice harm reduction; this work further underscores how the most predominant mode of treatment focuses on abstinence, which is in stark contrast to harm reduction frameworks. The results of this research highlight the perspectives of both service providers and people who use drugs in rural areas and offer insight into the challenges and opportunities in adapting harm reduction practices to communities, especially for those who live in areas where these practices are stigmatized and/or criminalized.

The symposium will offer a framework for scholars to explore how harm reduction concepts are understood by groups for whom this terminology is unfamiliar and ways to reinforce and implement harm reduction frameworks. The discussion will focus on how social work researchers can prioritize the needs of each population and challenge existing male-centric and urban-centered paradigms that overlook intersectional experiences. Additionally, the symposium will discuss the implications for how we can think about the prevailing assumptions of who accesses harm reduction services.15-2025-->