Strategy on Increasing Knowledge and Availability of Safer Opioid Supply

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) engage and collaborate using a multi-disciplinary approach (for example, one including safer supply prescribers, researchers and people with lived experience) to advocate for the increased knowledge and accessibility of safer supply prescribing programs and practices among Ontario health-care and social service professionals.

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.