INTRODUCTION TO HARM REDUCTION COURSE FOR STUDENTS OF SOCIAL WORK

1. INTRODUCTION TO HARM REDUCTIONCOURSE FOR STUDENTS OF SOCIAL WORK PhDr. Lenka Vavrinčíková lvavrincikova@pdf.umb.sk

2. FACULTY OF EDUCATION MATEJ BEL UNIVERSITY BANSKÁ BYSTRICA SLOVAKIA

3. FACULTY OF EDUCATION MATEJ BEL UNIVERSITY • was established on September 1964 • prepares: • teachers for the first stage of primary schools • teachers of general subjects at the second stage of primary schools (mathematics, Slovak language, music, art, physical education and ethics) combined with a second subject • teachers for the pre-school education • social workers • educators who can obtain bachelor’s or master’s degrees after studying full-time or part-time courses • teachers of religious education, priests and missionary workers for the Evangelical Church.

4. Department of Social Work Bachelor’s study: • Social Work • Social Work with Roma communities

5. INTRODUCTION TO HARM REDUCTION • program of Matej Bel University, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Work and in cooperation with the Open Society Foundation Slovakia and IHRD NY • NOS - OSF put together an international group of experts that developed a training manual for teachers for the purposes of this one semester course (Jean Paul Grund, Katarina Jirešová, Anya Sarang, Lenka Vavrinčíková and Don McVinney) • course is aimed at delivering introductory information about harm reduction, its interventions and its connection to a boarder, human rights perspective to the students of social work

6. INTRODUCTION TO HARM REDUCTION • the pilot course was successfully delivered and implemented at Matej Bel University, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia in academic year 2003/2004 for 2nd year students of Social Work • currently the course is delivered for the 2nd and 4th year students of social work • it has been offered to other departments of social work at other Slovak universities and abroad – through IHRD network

7. Course Educational Goals • Students will understand harm reduction perspective as a broad social and organizational concept • Students will understand the principles of social work practice in harm reduction framework • Students will acquire basic skills in how to work with drug users individually and at the community level

8. Learning Objectives • Define harm reduction as an approach that aims to reduce drug-related harm experienced by individuals and communities • Understand the historical and social contexts out of which harm reduction emerged and how harm reduction fits into an international human rights agenda • Identify and adopt the general principles of harm reduction • Understand various harm reduction models of intervention • Describe the different (classes of) drugs of abuse, their various routes of administration, their effects, and potential harms. • Understand drug use from a socio-cultural, ethnographic and hermeneutic perspective rather than a pathology perspective

9. Learning Objectives • Apply harm reduction strategies from individual-level to community-level interventions • Apply basic social work skills, such as active listening and building therapeutic alliances, with drug using individuals • Reinforce ethical principles of social work (treating clients with dignity and respect, non-discrimination against classes of clients, and the importance as well as limitations of client confidentiality) • Understand the various roles for social workers engaged in assisting substance-using clients and be able to function independently and/or as a member of an interdisciplinary team • Understand how to establish and maintain client contact (engagement) across social work settings • Complete a functional assessment of an individual or community experiencing drug- related harm • Select appropriate intervention strategies and resources consistent with the needs of clients • Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their practice

10. Listof Classes Class 1:Course Overview: Clarifying Objectives and Expectations. Introduction to Harm Reduction. Class2:Understanding Drug Use: Pharmacology, Classes of Drugs, Routes of Administration and Effects. Class 3:Zinberg’s Theory of ‘Drug, Set, and Setting’, Continuum of Drug Use. Class 4:Overview of Harm Reduction: History and Principles. Class5: Prevention Strategies: Overdose Prevention; Relapse Prevention; Disease Prevention. Class 6: Harm Reduction Modalities of Intervention.

11. Listof Classes Class 7:Assessment of Drug use and Drug-Related Harm: Individual Level Interventions. Class 8: Community Level Intervention, Rapid Assessment, Community Mapping. Class 9: Algorithms of Intervention, Goal Setting. Class 10: Applications of Harm Reduction to Other Populations. Class 11: Drug Policy, Harm Reduction and Human Rights. Class 12: Drug User Involvement, Empowerment, Participatory Action. Class 13: Wrap – up; Conclusion; Feedback; Evaluation; Looking Forward.

12. Implementation • Train the trainers project (implemented by Faculty of Social Work – to train teachers of related courses / from related professions in harm reduction • Translation – English, Slovak, possibly Russian, possibly Chinese • Internet availability – www.osf.sk or www.soros.org/harm-reduction

13. Acknowledgements • Don McVinney, USA • Jean Paul Grund, Netherlands • Anya Sarang, Russia • Katarina Jiresova, Slovakia • Matt Curtis, IHRD, NY • Sue Simon, IHRD, NY • Tatiana Hicarova, Slovakia