A continuum of disconnection: the impacts of safer supply program closures on continuity of care, transition, and total loss of service access

Résumé fourni par la source

OBJECTIVE: In March 2025, the expiration of federal pilot funding for Safer Supply Programs (SSPs), combined with restrictive provincial legislative changes to harm reduction service provision in Ontario, disrupted care for thousands of clients at risk of toxic drug poisoning. This study examines the impacts of these changes on client health, social stability, and overdose risk across a continuum of access. METHOD: We conducted 30 semi-structured virtual interviews between September and November 2025 with clients who were enrolled in an SSP prior to March 31, 2025. Participants were recruited via purposive and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis to explore experiences across three distinct groups: those who maintained continuity with their prescriber or SSP, those who transitioned to a new prescriber or SSP, and those who lost access entirely. RESULTS: Experiences of harm were directly proportional to the degree of service disconnection. Participants who maintained access (n = 10) retained clinical stability, but reported chronic anxiety and "survivor's guilt" regarding peers who lost care. Participants who transitioned to an alternative prescriber (n = 13) experienced a "medicalization of harm reduction" characterized by increased surveillance (e.g., urine screens, monitored dosing), revoked take-home doses, and the loss of trusted relationships, which undermined their autonomy and stability. Those who lost access entirely (n = 7) experienced significant harms, such as the loss of an entire ecosystem of care (i.e., medication, primary care, and community), an immediate return to the unregulated fentanyl market, and engagement in survival strategies that can lead to criminalization. Notably, 100% (n = 5) of participants who reported an overdose following the policy changes belonged to this group. CONCLUSION: The loss of federal funding for SSPs in Ontario did not solely reduce medication availability; it severed the structural and relational network that supported participants' reintegration into health care services that they previously felt uncomfortable accessing due to stigma, surveillance and mistreatment. Findings reveal a "continuum of disconnection" where the removal of wraparound supports and the reintroduction of punitive clinical practices function as forms of structural violence. Sustainable, low-barrier models are urgently needed to prevent further morbidity and mortality.

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