The Role of Prevention in Harm Reduction Efforts

The Great Lakes PTTC is committed to helping the substance misuse prevention workforce to understand its role in harm reduction efforts. The following are resources and tools to assist preventionists in understanding harm reduction and how prevention can best enhance harm reductions efforts in their local communities.

What Is Harm Reduction?

Recording - Understanding Prevention’s Role in Harm Reduction
Video: What is Harm Reduction? (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
https://www.drugabuse.gov/videos/what-harm-reduction
Harm reduction is defined as interventions aimed to help people avoid negative effects of drug use, but many understand harm reduction as a way to meet people where they are with kindness and respect. In this video, we hear from people who use drugs, people who are in recovery, and harm reduction professionals on what harm reduction is (and isn’t) in their own words.
Video: Harm Reduction 101 (Harm Reduction Action Center) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJJj_jgFmE&t=154s
What is harm reduction? Harm reduction is a public health philosophy and intervention that seeks to reduce the harms associated with drug use and ineffective drug policies.
Webinar series: Intersection of Prevention, Recovery, and Harm Reduction
https://vimeo.com/644886203 - Part 1
https://vimeo.com/646648440 - Part 2
The Peer Recovery Center of Excellence collaborated with the Prevention Technology Transfer Center to host two webinars around the intersection of prevention, recovery, and harm reduction.

What Is the Link Between Prevention and Harm Reduction?

Understanding the Role of Prevention in Harm Reduction Efforts [click "Download" to access file]
This brief created by the Great Lakes PTTC provides an overview of harm reduction and the specific actions preventionists can take to augment harm reduction efforts in their local communities.

Taking Action

Action Steps for Prevention Practitioners to Enhance Harm Reduction Efforts [click "Download" to access file]
This succinct “job aid” created by the Great Lakes PTTC provides a checklist of actions that prevention practitioners can take to enhance harm reduction efforts.
Substance Misuse Prevention’s Role in Harm Reduction – PowerPoint Slide Deck [click "Download" to access file]
This PowerPoint slide deck created by the Great Lakes PTTC can be used by prevention practitioners to educate their stakeholders, coalition members, and others on prevention’s role in enhancing harm reduction efforts. Facilitation tips are included in the notes section of each slide.
Intersection of Prevention, Recover, and Harm Reduction Learning Lab Tool Kit
https://peerrecoverynow.org/documents/Learning-Lab-Toolkit-Final.pdf
Prevention practitioners can use this toolkit and PowerPoint slides to facilitate learning communities to help break down silos and nurture relationships between the fields of harm reduction, prevention, and recovery. The Peer Recovery Center of Excellence in collaboration with the Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network, developed this companion product for the webinar series the Intersection of Harm Reduction, Prevention, and Recovery.

Using the Socio-Ecological Model To Develop Complementary Substance Misuse Prevention and Harm Reduction Efforts [click "Download" to access file]
This planning tool assists substance misuse prevention practitioners and harm reductionists in creating a complementary approach to prevention and harm reduction to reach people with different levels and types of risk in multiple social contexts.