The Role of Material Security in Improving Health for People Who Use Drugs

It is well known that an adequate and stable income promotes health. Material security (e.g., housing, food, and service access) may operate distinctly from income security, yet may also be critically important to health. Nevertheless, material security and its relationship with employment is not well understood, an important oversight in research among people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) given that the ongoing need to acquire drugs may disrupt the translation of income security into material security. This project seeks to examine the role of material security in improving health for PWUD in British Columbia using mixed methods. This is of critical importance to the PHS Community Services Society (PHS), an organization that, through its social enterprises, peer employment, and peer involvement in harm reduction provides opportunities for reliable income as well as access to community support and resources. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Lindsey Richardson

Student:

Jenna vanDraanen Earwaker

Partner:

PHS Community Services Society

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Medical devices

University:

Program: