Abstract
(1) Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) and needle and syringe program (NSP) providers increasingly partner with researchers to explore harm reduction best practice. However, a paucity of research exists regarding how best to engage PWID and community NSP providers to generate the evidence for sustainable harm reduction services. (2) Aim: This study reports on our use of an organic community research partnership-building approach between researchers, NSP providers, and PWID in Canberra ACT, Australia. (3) Method: Survey participants included both PWID (n = 70) and NSP providers (n = 26) across primary (n = 2), secondary (n = 7), and outreach (n = 1) services in Canberra ACT. Applying an organic partnership-building strategy, we engaged with partners and adapted approaches according to information gained in the process of implementation. (4) Results: We found engaging in relationship building around partner priority activities created mutual understanding and trust premised in authenticity of the evolving partnership. Our organic approach, which included a partner audit of the research tools for relevance, resulted in high acceptance and enrolment into the research by NSP providers and PWID. Finally, we observed strong social capital building utilizing an organic approach for the sustainability of the partnership. (5) Conclusions: The results of this study provide evidence for the benefits of organic collaborative research partnership building with NSP providers and PWID for authentic service program implementation. Our approach to research partnership building resulted in strong relationships built on shared goals and objectives, mutual gains, and complementary expertise. We propose the wider use of organic approaches to developing collaborative research partnerships with NSP providers and PWID to enhance consumer responsiveness towards service provision.
Highlights
Collaborative research partnerships with consumers and health service providers facilitate the translation of research findings into policy development and implementation [1], closing the knowledge gap between health communities and researchers for improved health outcomes and quality of life (QOL) for community members [2,3]
We found that organic collaborative research partnership building with needle and syringe program (NSP) providers and people who inject drugs (PWID) was productive for building rapport, trust development, and nurturing this relationship
The results of this study provide evidence as to the benefit of organic collaborative research partnership building with NSP service providers and PWID for authentic service program implementation
Summary
Collaborative research partnerships with consumers and health service providers facilitate the translation of research findings into policy development and implementation [1], closing the knowledge gap between health communities and researchers for improved health outcomes and quality of life (QOL) for community members [2,3]. The evidence is less clear as to how to build credible and trustworthy collaborative research partnerships with hidden communities, such as people who inject drugs (PWID) and their service providers. An estimated 11.3 million people inject drugs [4]. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [4], PWID are at high risk of avoidable potential harms from substance use in the absence of evidence on how to support their safer use. The risks associated with substance use has further increased in recent years with fentanyl analogues serving as cheaper substitutes for heroin or as cutting agents [5]. Rapid sample techniques hold great promise for early interventions with PWID [6], and the benefits would likely multiply with collaborative research partnerships between researchers, PWID, and their NSP providers
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