Integrated Strategy to Address Substance Use Disorder

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) and its membership call for the Ministry of Health and its allies to: 1. Accelerate and augment the Road to Wellness (2020) initiatives and by implementing a province-wide, integrated strategy for substance use disorder (SUD) that will address prevention; and 2. Create and fund roles for trauma-informed SUD coordinators to support and educate those working with this population and those they serve.

Action

RNAO is preparing a special edition of RNJ focusing exclusively on social determinants of health with a special feature on opioid overdoses and substance use.
RNAO’s 2021 federal platform, our federal and provincial pre-budget submissions and our 2022 provincial platform all identify the opioid overdose crisis as a public health crisis. Collectively, we put forward a broad range of harm reduction interventions to address the growing number of opioid-related deaths, hospitalizations and emergency room visits, including expanded safer supply and decriminalization. We also issued a related action alert.
In collaboration with the association’s policy department, the movers are currently reviewing the Engaging Clients Who Use Substances best practice guideline to develop an online webinar dealing with substance use.