Adapting Educational Tools and Resources to Reduce Substance Use Stigma and Promote Health Equity in the Cancer Care Sector
Leads: Dr. Annette Brown, Dr. Leah Lambert, Jagbir Kaur
This project is supported by the Health Innovation Funding Investment (HIFI) funding program and is being conducted in collaboration with the University of British Columbia School of Nursing.
Despite increasing concerns about deepening inequities across the cancer care (CC) continuum, strategies to support the implementation of equity-oriented approaches remain limited. We will engage in participatory knowledge mobilization activities to adapt and tailor innovative, practice-relevant educational tools and resources designed to reduce substance use stigma (SUS) at the point of care as a major contributor to inequities in CC.
Outputs from this research catalyzed new partnerships between health equity researchers and cancer care clinicians, generating new insights about the impacts of substance use stigma in the cancer care continuum.
This project generated new graphics and materials to support service provider capacity to reduce substance use stigma across the cancer care continuum.
Study Background & Rationale:
Background: Substance use stigma (SUS) refers to negative beliefs about people based on their actual or assumed substance use. Stigma drives harm, prevents access to care, and intersects with mental health stigma and other forms of discrimination, such as racism, classism, and sexism. SUS is particularly harmful for Indigenous peoples, who are often assumed to use substances, and for gender-diverse, trans, or non-conforming individuals facing additional care barriers.
Research in primary care and emergency departments shows that educational tools and resour
ces to reduce SUS are essential components to equity-oriented care. While such tools have proven effective, discussions on SUS in the cancer care (CC) sector are limited and remain a challenging topic. This cross-faculty, cross-campus and community collaboration offers a unique opportunity to address SUS, care access, and health equity in CC.
Purpose of Study: Engaging knowledge users, partner organizations, and people with lived experience of substance use stigma (PWLE-SUS) is central to our equity goals and a strength of our team. Our project promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion through: (a) a diverse team, (b) involving PWLE-SUS in adapting tools for cancer care providers, and (c) delivering resources to reduce SUS as a key component of equity-oriented care. Our approach aligns with UBC Health's strategic priorities of fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, shaping the future cancer care workforce, and driving equity-oriented change.
Methods:
The EQUIP Health Care team has developed a suite of evidence-based educational tools to guide reduction of inequities from SUS and discrimination, based on research in primary care and emergency departments.
The Cancer Health Equity Collective (CHEC) will collaborate with EQUIP to adapt SUS resources to optimize their relevancy for use across the Cancer Care (CC) continuum (i.e., screening, diagnosis, treatment, pain and symptom management, palliative, and end-of-life care).
We will invite people with lived experience of substance use stigma (PWLE-SUS) from within our networks to inform us of the adaptation and tailoring process; many have had diverse experiences in the CC sector.
Deliverables: | ||||
A comprehensive environmental scan on how attention to substance use stigma in cancer care is approached in various jurisdictions. Insights from the environmental scan served as the foundation for multiple presentations. ( Completed by month 3 ) |
A series of 4 participatory, targeted workshops to better understand how substance use stigma is enacted in cancer care and support development of new resources to build capacity for non-stigmatizing approaches to care. ( Completed by month 9 ) |
Adapted SUS educational tools and resources for the CC sector. Developed Knowledge Translation materials to support service provider education. ( Completed by month 12 ) | ||
Learn More
If you are interested in participating in this work, or would like to learn more, please contact the research team at research.kt@bccancer.bc.ca.
BC Cancer Foundation is the fundraising partner of BC Cancer, which includes BC Cancer Research. Together with our donors, we are changing cancer outcomes for British Columbians by funding innovative research and personalized treatment and care.