UBC Emergency Medicine Assistant Professor, Dr. Jessica Moe, is the nominated principal applicant for a new study addressing the mental health and substance use crisis emerging as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, Preventing Opioid Deaths due to COVID Related Increase in Smoking Illicit Substances (Preventing OD CRISIS), is a collaboration between the BC Centre for Disease Control, the Health Ministry’s Overdose Emergency Response Centre, and BC health authorities.
Dr. Moe’s team was awarded $200,000 to implement a novel continuous oximetry protocol for people who smoke opioids at six partnering overdose prevention service (OPS) sites, in order to allow for safe monitoring of clients’ oxygen levels while abiding by physical distancing required during COVID-19. This study addresses a decline in visits to OPS since COVID-19 onset, and a concurrent rise in smoking-related overdose deaths.
This investment is made possible through the COVID-19 and Mental Health (CMH) Research Initiative, a collaboration between CIHR, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. The findings of this study will be used immediately to inform policy and practice to respond to this evolving crisis.
Congratulations to Jessica Moe and her team!
Learn more:
- Read the official announcement: Government of Canada and provincial partners support research addressing mental health impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians