EZMSA SPEAKER EVENT

Speaker: Understanding the Short-and Long-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on People Who Use Substances in Edmonton’s Inner City: Findings of the 2023 ICHWP Cross Sectional Survey 

Date: February 20, 2025 
Time: 5:30 – 7:00 PM 
Location: Zoom 
Register here by February 19, 2025, at 11:59 PM 

Agenda: 

  1. Introductions by EZMSA Executive 

  2. Presentation by Dr. Heather Morris, Campion Cottrell-McDermott & Bethany Piggott (45 minutes) 

  3. Questions (45 minutes) 

Description: 

Dr. Heather Morris, Campion Cottrell-McDermott and Bethany Piggott from the Inner City Health and Wellness Program, Royal Alexandra Hospital will join us to provide an overview of the 2023 survey of people who use drugs in Edmonton's inner city. As the largest survey of its kind in Edmonton's history, we'll provide an overview of this cross-sectional survey, the primary aim of which has been to: 

  1. Describe the current health and social service utilization and needs of people who use drugs in Edmonton's inner city. 

  2. Examine why existing services may not be meeting current needs 

  3. Measure the acceptability of new and emerging services and policies; and 

  4. Investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Edmonton's inner city population who use substances.  

Speaker Biography: 

Dr. Heather Morris is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta and a Research Scientist with the Inner-City Health and Wellness Program, Royal Alexandra Hospital. As a former public health nurse, her current research interests center around health service utilization by urban underserved populations, public perceptions of harm reduction and how individuals with lived and living experience, bereaved mothers in particular, shape drug policy reform in Canada. 

Campion Cottrell-McDermott (BA, MPH) is a research project coordinator with the Inner City Health and Wellness Program. They are a passionate advocate and interested in substance use, the climate crisis, housing policy, and harm reduction.  In their free time they love to be outside and crafting.  

Bethany Piggott Bethany has found fulfillment as a casual Housing Support Worker and Outreach Worker with (Streetworks) Boyle Street Community Services, her advocacy work as an Outreach Worker with the Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR), and through volunteering both as a Festival Health Worker and Emergency Medical Responder with Indigo Harm Reduction. She is presently studying psychiatric nursing at MacEwan University. She enjoys her work as a research assistant with ICHWP and being able to learn from and grow with such a fantastic group of people. 

This event is available to members of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association, Calgary and Area Medical Staff Society, Central Zone Medical Staff Association, North Zone Medical Staff Association, South Zone Medical Staff Association, and staff of Alberta Medical Association.