CHMP’s Media Policy and Harm Reduction Panel a Huge Success: Recap #1, Humanization of Drug Users in Media

Harm Reduction Panel (photo by Martin Dornbaum)

Those who were in attendance at CHMP’s inaugural event on harm reduction were inspired by stories from Fiona Gold and Juanita Maginley, who represented the Vancouver Street Nurses, as well as insights from a distinguished panel and audience members. “Media, Policy and Harm Reduction” brought together CHMP’s visiting scholars Gold and Maginley with Dr. Daliah Heller, Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Alcohol, Drug Use Prevention, Care and Treatment for New York City; Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, an MD practicing at a community health care center in the Bronx with a needle exchange program; Allen Kwabena Frimpong of the Harm Reduction Coalition in New York, an advocate with extensive background in international issues of harm reduction, especially among youth; and Maxine King, outreach coordinator for WORTH (Women On The Rise Telling HerStory), a substance abuse counselor and social worker who has experienced the heath care system both as an addict and as a healer. The panel was moderated by CHMP Co-Director Barbara Glickstein and included comments from the Joan Hansen Grabe Dean of the Hunter School of Nursing, Dr. Kristine Gebbie, and CMHP Co-Director, the Rudin Professor of Nursing Dr. Diana Mason and was held at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. Over the next week, CHMP’s Blog will feature posts regarding important themes of the evening.  This first post will cover one of the major themes: humanizing drug addiction in the media.

Ms. Maginley began with the idea of media as a tool for education.  She spoke specifically about creation of the film “Bevel Up: Drugs Users and Outreach Nursing”.  She showed a 12-minute clip, which provided a story of a mother and daughter—both living with drug addiction—and their struggle on the streets of Vancouver.  The powerful clip offered poignant perspective on those living with addiction and the caring nature of others working to help them through harm reduction.

Daliah Heller spoke about specific media campaigns she believed unfairly represented New York State harm reduction efforts.  One such recent article appeared in the New York Daily News, entitled “States picking ex-cons’ poison, hopes new drug Suboxone will keep inmates off heroin”.  She pointed out that the irresponsible narratives supplied by the media may inhibit the rollout of the new harm reduction program to be adopted by some New York State prisons, which is hoped to significantly decrease the high number of overdoses among the recently incarcerated population, who were not receiving methadone maintenance in prison, but were living with drug addiction prior to incarceration.  A similarly misinformed portrayal of New York City’s progressive harm reduction program made international news last January, which Ms. Heller says hindered the harm reduction agenda in New York City.

Importantly, Ms. Gold brought to light another issue concerning language the media, medical community and law enforcement use when referencing drug users.  Words such as “drug abusers” immediately vilifies and disempowers people living with drug addiction.  In an effort to reach out to the media, Ms. Gold recounted a trip the Vancouver Street Nurses took to a European city’s harm reduction program, which included a safe injection sight.  With them they brought a member of the media in Vancouver. Ms. Gold explained that after this trip, she no longer had to call the media to beg for an accurate representation of Vancouver’s harm reduction strategies, but instead, members of the media began reaching out to her for quotes and stories.  Audience member and health care journalist, Irene Wielawski, also believed stronger media partnerships are important for effective media portrayals of these issues.

Allen Kwabena Frimpong also delivered an important message.  His point was that current PSAs are not only vilifying drug users, but are also not reaching the appropriate groups of interest.  A clip was shown of a PSA produced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that targeted young Americans, though the clip featured people who were actors and models that were not representative of the population of actual users in this country.  He said that we need to be targeting those who have little to no access to resources to help them avoid drug use or to gain treatment for addiction.  Panelists and audience members alike agreed that the current media portrayal of harm reduction and people living with addiction in this county is a misguided and irresponsible one.  Changing the media portrayal of these issues will be key to a future of acceptance, compassion, and empowerment of those who are struggling with addiction and others working with the drug-addicted community.

Jen Busse, RN, MPH, is an intern at the CHMP, and currently pursuing an MS in nursing as a Family Practice Nurse Practitioner at Columbia University.

[caption id="attachment_776" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Harm Reduction Panel

The Evolving Face of Nursing: Philadelphia’s New Mural

Philadelphia is known as the “city of murals.” They’re everywhere. On October 6^th, I was in the city for the unveiling of a new nursing mural and was surprised at how many other murals I saw during my brief visit. It provides the city with a lively, engaging, curious, artistic feel to it. And the newest nursing mural brings an exciting new approach to murals.

For many years, the most frequently requested mural site in the city was the nursing mural at the corner of Broad and Vine Streets. That mural focused on nursing’s history. But the wall was becoming compromised and the mural needed to be replaced. With the support of the Independence Foundation and others, muralist Meg Seligman was commissioned to create a new nursing mural. She interviewed nurses and repeatedly heard about the changing roles for nurses and the current and future potential for the profession to transform health care. As a result, the new mural is named “The Evolving Face of Nursing” and reflects the profession’s diversity in its providers, settings, roles, and opportunities—all with a consistency of purpose and vision: a commitment to improving the health of individuals, families, and communities.

The mural is simply fabulous. There are faces of real nurses all over this  complex wall–some large, some small, some obvious, some hard to see initially; some looking like photos, others like a Warhol print. Color is pale and brilliant, pastel and iridescent. At night, LED lights highlight various parts of the mural in ways that keep changing. Here is a video showing the mural with Meg Seligman describing it:

Jane Golden is the energetic, visionary woman responsible for the city’s murals. She sees this and the other murals in the city as “the autobiography of the city.”

I arrived at the groundbreaking early and was fortunate that another nurse, Nina Howze-Glover, BS, ADN, did, too. She’s the new face of nursing—a new graduate who chose to work in the community instead of a hospital. She works for the Health Promotion Council of Philadelphia on promoting healthier food choices in schools. Hear her own description of the work she’s doing as a nurse:

Nina Howze-Glover is transforming the health of the children of Philadelphia—and their families. Her face isn’t on the mural but her vision, purpose, and passion are there. Thanks to Meg Seligman for a brilliant new mural dedicated to nurses and their profession. The next time you’re in Philadelphia, go by Broad and Vine, day or night.

Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, Rudin Professor of Nursing

Philadelphia is known as the “city of