Harm Reduction 'On the Move': What Is the Role of Environmental Influences?

Abstract

Many harm-reduction services are provided through mobile programs (e.g., vans traveling to various locations), and such services are particularly important for reaching people who use substances who are socially and economically marginalized. Mobile harm reduction is not, however, a given but is shaped by the environment within which it occurs. Based on peer-reviewed literature, grey literature, and media reports primarily from Canada and the United States, we point to environmental conditions (e.g., limited funds for harm reduction, stigmatization of substance use) that appear to force mobile harm reduction, and influence (directly or indirectly) the route and speed of mobility, when and how it stops, as well as how it is experienced by harm-reduction workers and people who use substances. It is argued that there is a need to examine how environmental conditions in various places influence mobile harm reduction, including potential differences in impacts on harm-reduction workers' experiences, and service provision.