Helping Families Affected by Addiction
College of Nursing’s Dr. Geoffrey Maina launches substance use disorder education toolkit.
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing in Prince Albert have completed a project with community partners that will help families affected by substance use.
The Substance Use Disorder Education Toolkit for Families Affected by Addiction in Prince Albert was officially launched November 2nd.
College of Nursing associate professor Dr. Geoffrey Maina (PhD), has been leading the project since June 2017, alongside College of Nursing colleague Dr. Marcella Ogenchuk (PhD) and community partners.
“This project began with a knowledge exchange event to identify needs in the community,” said Dr. Maina. “During this meeting, it was determined that the impact of addiction on families is less recognized. Following the event, my team and I applied for a grant to explore the needs of these families and develop an intervention using the excerpts from the narratives of people affected by addiction.”
Service providers, policymakers, administrators, patients and family members, community leaders, and scholars were among those contributing to the creation of the toolkit.
The toolkit, a 52-page document accompanied by a bookmark, summarizes the impact of addiction on families. It includes facts about commonly used substances, early signs of substance use, and the journey to recovery. It outlines helping a loved one in the recovery journey and discusses harm reduction, and overdose prevention. But most importantly, it is a toolkit of additional resources and important contacts to call in a crisis.
Each attendee at the November 2nd launch event was given two copies of the booklet and five bookmarks to share. Plans are in place to distribute these resources to key places in Prince Albert, such as the public library, emergency room waiting areas, walk-in clinics, etc.
“I wish to thank everyone involved in this project who shared valuable insights and ideas as to how to create the toolkit that will hopefully improve the well-being of clients and families living with addiction in Prince Albert,” said Dr. Maina.
For more information on this project, please contact Dr. Maina or download an electronic copy from the Prince Albert and Area Community Alcohol Strategy website.