The overdose crisis: ‘One death is enough’
A November report from the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network examined coroners’ reports on overdose deaths. It found that the percent of deaths in Waterloo Region involving smoking was almost twice as high as the number where drugs were injected.
December 29, 2022 | Toronto Star | News Article | Associated Research
Is safe supply for opioid use effective? Here’s what the experts, data say
Another independent study published in September in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found safe opioid supply programs can significantly cut down on emergency department visits and hospitalizations for people at high risk for overdose.
December 10, 2022 | Global News | News Article | Associated Research
Move to generic methadone raises concerns
“It’s a way for them to manage their budgets as best they can,” says Tara Gomes, scientist at Unity Health and lead of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network. Gomes says that in the case of Methadose, the province has recently decided to list both the brand name and the new generic at the same price.
September 27, 2022 | Healthy Debate | News Article
‘This program’s really saved us’: As Canada offers safer opioids to curb overdoses, will U.S. follow?
A study published Monday found that participants in a safer supply program in London, Ontario had fewer ER visits and hospital admissions after joining the program.
September 21, 2022 | STAT News | News Article | Associated Research
Safer opioid supply program leads to drop in Ontario hospitalizations, ER visits: study
Safe opioid supply programs can significantly cut down on emergency department visits and hospitalizations for people at high risk for overdose, new research from Ontario suggests.
September 19, 2022 | Global News | News Article | Associated Research
Despite rising OD deaths linked to smoking drugs, no supervised inhalation services exist in Ontario
Gomes’s May 2021 report, Changing Circumstances Surrounding Opioid-Related Deaths in Ontario during the COVID-19 Pandemic, pointed to a “significant shift away from opioid-related deaths with evidence of injection only … towards deaths with evidence of a pipe/foil for inhalation at the scene.”
August 12, 2022 | CP24 | News Article | Associated Research
Ontario construction workers accounted for 1 in 13 opioid deaths in recent years, report finds
Construction workers have been disproportionately affected by the worsening opioid crisis, accounting for about one in 13 opioid-related deaths in Ontario between 2017 and 2020, according to a new report published Thursday.
July 28, 2022 | The Globe and Mail | News Article | Associated Research
Where the parties stand: On the opioid crisis
Ontario’s opioid crisis is “not abating — it’s continuing to grow,” says Gomes, who is also the principal investigator at the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network. “This is just such an enormous public-health issue, and we’re losing so many lives to these accidental overdoses that are really avoidable if we could put the appropriate supports and systems in place for people.”
May 5, 2022 | TVO | News Article | Associated Research
Product label changes do not prevent accidental acetaminophen overdoses: Study
“We found that changes to acetaminophen labels that communicated the risks of overdose and the presence of acetaminophen in over-the-counter products did not affect rates of hospital admission for accidental acetaminophen overdose, ICU admission for accidental acetaminophen overdose and admission for acetaminophen overdoses involving opioids,” writes Dr. Tony Antoniou, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, with coauthors.
April 19, 2022 | The Print | News Article | Associated Research
Antibiotic use varies across Canada’s provinces
“Reducing the overuse of antibiotics, with the specific concern of antimicrobial resistance growing, has been a goal globally,” said Tadrous. “That’s why it’s important to continue to drive down the gap between what’s appropriate use and what’s not.”
April 12, 2022 | Medscape | News Article | Associated Research
Opioid crisis: More access to take-home treatments didn’t raise risk of overdoses, study says
“Allowing people to have that agency over treatment and given that opportunity is really important in independence and in confidence building,” Charlotte Munro, one of the study’s co-authors and a member of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network’s (ODPRN) lived experienced advisory board, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
March 1, 2022 | CTV News | News Article | Associated Research
Half of people who died from opioids in 2020 sought health care in the month before
Dr. Tara Gomes, the lead author of the report and a scientist at St. Michael’s, said the rate at which people accessed health care — outpatient visits, family doctor visits, trips to the emergency department or a hospital admission — shortly before dying is startling.
January 18, 2022 | Toronto Star | News Article | Associated Research
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