Strategic Placement and Accessibility of Naloxone Kits in Canadian Communities

Strategic Placement and Accessibility of Naloxone Kits in Canadian Communities

This session highlights recent research exploring innovative strategies to improve the accessibility and placement of naloxone kits in Canada. Drawing in insights from geospatial analytics, community engagement, and pharmacy-led interventions, this discussion focuses on opportunities to work together to ensure naloxone is available where it’s needed most. Join Dr. Tim Chan, Dr. Javiera Navarette, and Dr. Maria Zhang for a discussion on future directions for pharmacy and public health to support the accessibility of naloxone kits in communities.

Presenters:

Timothy Chan

Timothy Chan is the Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives at the University of Toronto, the Canada Research Chair in Novel Optimization and Analytics in Health, a Professor in the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and a Senior Fellow of Massey College. His primary research interests are in operations research, optimization, and applied machine learning, with applications in healthcare, medicine, sustainability, and sports.

Javiera Navarrete

Javiera Navarrete is a pharmacist and PhD student at the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her research sits at the intersection of pharmacy practice and public health, with a focus on expanding access to patient-centred care through pharmacy settings. She explores the role of pharmacy staff in the public health response to the drug overdose crisis. She holds a BScPharm degree from the Universidad Católica de Chile and an MSc in Pharmacy Practice from the University of Alberta. Javiera has a strong interest in implementation research focused on collaborative, team-based, and multidisciplinary models of care.

Maria Zhang

Maria Zhang is an Advanced Practice Clinical Leader (Pharmacy) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto (U of T). Maria completed her graduate work at CAMH through the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Collaborative Program in Addiction Studies at U of T. The focus of her research and her teaching is mental health and illness, with a focus on substance use. She is also interested in knowledge translation and supporting the continuing professional development of health care practitioners.

Resources

• Leung KB, Grunau BE, Lee MK, Buxton JA, Helmer J, van Diepen S, Christenson J, Chan TC. Optimizing placement of public-access naloxone kits using geospatial analytics: a modelling study. CMAJ. 2025 Mar 17;197(10):E258-65. Available at: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/197/10/E258.abstract
• Ingram T, Rubi S, Brown JL, Sprunger J, Shadwick A, Crago C, Lyons MS, Winhusen TJ. Increasing access: Making naloxone available at highway rest areas. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy. 2025 Sep 19:100660. Access here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276625001015