A qualitative analysis of the impact of the opioid crisis on non-emergency frontline social service workers

ABSTRACT

The opioid crisis in Canada has led to over 9,000 opioid-related deaths. The impact of this crisis on frontline workers is poorly understood. We spoke to 14 frontline workers to explore the impact of the opioid crisis on their work, examine perceptions of supports in the workplace, and identify recommendations to mitigate overdose-related stressors. Findings suggest that workers are experiencing significant increases in stress/burnout. Perceived stressors included new/increased job duties, fear of deaths, inadequate staffing/training, heightened vigilance, and fears for safety. Additional counseling, debriefing, staffing, training, and recreation were recommended. Public policies favoring harm reduction are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Frontline workers
• opioid crisis
• qualitative
• social service
• stress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was generously supported by the Douglas College Research and Scholarly Activity Project Fund.