A scoping review and concept analysis to inform Canada's safe(r) opioid supply research agenda

Providing pharmaceutical opioid medications as alternatives to the unregulated drug market, commonly referred to as safe supply or safer supply (hereafter "safe(r) supply"), has emerged as a harm reduction strategy in Canada, with wide variation in principles and implementation. We aimed to clarify the concept of safe(r) opioid supply across harm-reduction and clinical contexts.

We conducted a scoping review and concept analysis. We systematically searched six major electronic databases and the grey literature to identify articles published between 2010 and 2024. Informed by Walker and Avant's concept analysis methodology, we extracted definitions and descriptions of programs and interventions, organizing key characteristics into thematic dimensions to develop a framework distinguishing various care approaches.

Our review included 95 articles. Safe(r) supply operationalizes under two broad approaches: a medicalized/prescribed approach ('safer supply') and a non-medicalized/community-based approach ('safe supply'). We outlined three illustrative cases that nest within these approaches: (1) Prescribed opioids with opioid agonist therapy (OAT) offered and/or co-prescribed, (2) Prescribed opioids without OAT, (3) Community-based distribution of unregulated drugs with known composition.

Safe(r) supply encompasses prescribed opioid alternatives interventions (safer supply) and non-medicalized (safe supply) approaches with shared antecedents but distinct attributes and consequences. This study highlights the need to better define and standardize the parameters of safer supply approaches, including population, dosing, and intended objectives, to enable a more precise assessment of their potential benefits and risks. This nuanced understanding is crucial for developing evidence-based strategies in response to Canada's drug poisoning crisis.