SSP Indicators Project

Overview

This project was developed based on ongoing requests for technical assistance related to ethical, reliable, and useful data that could be collected within SSPs. Our team set out to develop community-informed indicators that could be recommended. Our overarching aim is to advocate for good data collection practices that help make programs better, instead of being a burden to SSP staff or participants.

SHaRP Salons: Community Conversations on Harm Reduction Data

The University of Washington Supporting Harm Reduction Programs (SHaRP) Team, in partnership with The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), is thrilled to announce a three-part online discussion series, SHaRP Salons: Community Conversations on Harm Reduction Data.

Each hourlong meeting will focus on data-related challenges common to harm reduction programs in the US and will consist of short introductory presentations followed by facilitated discussions among participants. While all are welcome to attend, these discussions will be oriented toward harm reduction program staff and people who use drugs. Meetings will not be recorded, and a summary of main points will be posted online and distributed to attendees.

Sessions:

Thursday, February 29: How can we improve our data quality?

The SHaRP Team briefly outlined recommendations and good practices for high-quality, low-barrier data collection and facilitated a conversation among Salon participants to share lessons learned and on-the-ground expertise. Slides from the call and a report back on the discussion are below.

Thursday, March 14: Sharing data with community and participants

The SHaRP Team introduced considerations and recommendations for data dissemination and fostered discussion among Salon participants about common challenges and methods of sharing program data publicly. Slides from the call and a report back on the discussion are below.

Thursday, March 28: Asking sensitive questions

The SHaRP Team facilitated a discussion on some of the most sensitive data points common to harm reduction programs. Harm reduction program participants often find themselves at the nexus of multiple criminalized identities, and programs are often tasked with using data to advocate for social change while respecting participant dignity, autonomy, and privacy. Focusing on recommended indicators from their community-informed SSP Indicators project, the SHaRP team solicited recommendations and challenges associated with data points on structural violence and overdose.

The UW SHaRP team is no longer funded by the National Harm Reduction Technical Assistance Center (NHRTAC) and this project is not associated with NHRTAC.

Public Feedback Process

On November 15th, 2023, we hosted a virtual meeting to share our preliminary results with the public for the first time. During this meeting, we shared what has been accomplished so far and the next steps in terms of collecting additional input from stakeholders within the harm reduction community to finalize recommendations. If you would like to watch the recording of the share-back, you can view it here. 

Slides from the meeting can be downloaded below.

The draft list of indicators we discussed can be found below.

In-person Stakeholder Convening

In June 2023, we hosted a two-day community meeting in Illinois to propose and discuss data indicators that can be ethically and reliably collected at syringe services programs (SSPs).

This in-person convening brought together people engaged in harm reduction services and representatives of organizations that provide harm reduction services, as well as a limited number of harm reduction researchers, government representatives, and funders. Attendees contributed their perspective on data collection within SSPs, develop recommendations, and work towards agreement about recommended standard SSP indicators.

Convening Findings

During the convening several themes emerged around data collection, relationships with funders, programmatic autonomy, and data ethics that the group felt were essential to accompany recommended indicators. The below document includes a list of concepts the workgroup developed that now serve as the findings from the convening. These findings are meant to be read and understood prior to reviewing the indicators that have been vetted and approved by workgroup members.

Pre-convening materials

If you would like to review materials that outline some of the concepts that were used at the meeting to introduce indicators that could potentially be ethically collected at SSPs, you may read the packet provided to convening attendees below.