'Running myself ragged': stressors faced by peer workers in overdose response settings
| Autor: | Ryan Seguin, Amy Howell, Fred Cameron, Jennifer Conway-Brown, Peter Woodrow, Jane A. Buxton, Zahra Mamdani, Bernadette Pauly, Denice Edwards, Tracy Scott, Sophie McKenzie |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Substance-Related Disorders
Applied psychology Overdose Psychological intervention Medicine (miscellaneous) Peers Peer Group Running 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Quality of life (healthcare) Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Harm reduction 030505 public health Social work lcsh:Public aspects of medicine Research Stressors Stressor Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health lcsh:RA1-1270 Focus group Mental health Psychiatry and Mental health Health psychology Peer workers Stigma Quality of Life Drug Overdose 0305 other medical science Psychology |
| Zdroj: | Harm Reduction Journal Harm Reduction Journal, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-19 (2021) |
| DOI: | 10.14288/1.0395874 |
| Popis: | Background Peer workers or “peers” (workers with past or present drug use experience) are at the forefront of overdose response initiatives, and their role is essential in creating safe spaces for people who use drugs (PWUD). Working in overdose response settings has benefits for peer workers but is also stressful, with lasting emotional and mental health effects. Yet, little is known about the stressors peer workers face and what interventions can be implemented to support them in their roles. Methods This project used a community-based sequential mixed-methods research design. Eight peer researcher-led focus groups (n = 31) were conducted between November 2018 and March 2019 to assess needs of peer workers. The transcripts were thematically coded and analysed using interpretative description. These results informed a survey, which was conducted (n = 50) in September 2019 to acquire quantitative data on peer workers’ perception of health, quality of life, working conditions and stressors. Frequency distributions were used to describe characteristics of participants. X2 distribution values with Yates correction were conducted to check for association between variables. Results Five themes emerged from the focus groups that point to stressors felt by peer workers: (1) financial insecurity; (2) lack of respect and recognition at work; (3) housing challenges; (4) inability to access and/or refer individuals to resources; and (5) constant exposure to death and trauma. Consistent with this, the factors that survey participants picked as one of their “top three stressors” included financial situation, work situation, and housing challenges. Conclusion Peer workers are faced with a diversity of stressors in their lives which often reflect societal stigmatization of drug use. Recognition of these systemic stressors is critical in designing interventions to ease the emotional, physical and financial burden faced by peer workers. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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