HARM REDUCTION IN ARIZONA – A WEB MAPPING APPROACH

Abstract

In the United States, the number of people who die from drug overdose has been climbing since 1999. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the opioid epidemic. Overdose deaths are not the only concern associated with this epidemic, either. Methods of opioid use such as injection can lead to other health problems such as the transmission of bloodborne illnesses if performed unsafely. To counteract the impact of the opioid epidemic, a method known as harm reduction has been adopted by the public health community. While harm reduction describes a variety of medical practices, the overall aim is to provide specialized healthcare for people who use drugs, given their unique medical needs. In Arizona, one agency responsible for coordinating harm reduction efforts is the University of Arizona’s Harm Reduction Research Laboratory. This project was conceived as part of that agency’s efforts. After surveying every pharmacy in Arizona, the Harm Reduction Lab was interested in creating a publicly available web map displaying the survey results. This project outlines the procedures taken to produce that map, from geocoding and editing address points, to cleaning and hosting the data in an online format, and finally creating a web map ready for public exposure. The final product is a web map of every pharmacy in the State of Arizona, with detailed information of which pharmacies offer harm reduction services and which types of service they provide. The web map is publicly available and can be used on both PC and mobile devices.