Recommendations for setting up online harm reduction services

This document was developed by Lana Durjava for the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) as part of the project “Sustainability of Services for Key Populations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”. It presents a brief guide with recommendations for harm reduction service managers on how to launch a new – or improve an existing –online harm reduction service aimed at people who use drugs (PWUD). The guide entails step-by-step practical tips regarding web outreach programme design, implementation, and evaluation. The purpose of this guide is to provide managers of harm reduction services, as well as representatives of other organisations working with key populations, with all the essential information needed to start an online outreach programme compiled in one place and presented in the form of concise, evidence-based, easily implementable recommendations.

The recommendations included in this guide can be adapted in line with the needs and resources of individual organisations, local contexts, and characteristics of the target population. They can also be adapted for web outreach with other key populations, such as people living with HIV, sex workers, or men who have sex with men.

This guide aims to complement a number of existing resource materials on the topic of online outreach, such as EHRA’s “Digital Help: Online Course on Digital Services for Key Population”, EHRA’s “Peer-to-Peer Counsellor Manual for Online Counselling”, and UNODC’s “Recommendations: Web Outreach for People Who Use Drugs”. The links to these materials, as well as other resources, are included in the Annex of this guide.