ID: HR19-1478

Presenting author: Diana Craciun

Presenting author biography:

Diana-Luminița Crăciun (M.A. Gender and Diversity) is a Diversity-Trainer and Project Coordination of PaSuMi: a Comunity-Based-Participatory-Research Project of Deutsche Aidshilfe (the German AIDS Service Organisation). Her work is focused on multi-level discrimination (intersectionality) in terms of (sexual) health services as well as acting against it on structural and institutional levels.

Drug prevention and harm reduction services for and with migrants in Germany (PaSuMi): A Community Based Participatory Health Project

Diana Craciun, Tanja Gangarova, Dirk Schäffer

Background
Evidence shows that migrant and refugee communities in Germany don`t have equal access to the health system, information, counselling and harm reduction services, nor are they meaningfully engaged in drug prevention, harm reduction and research. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) provides a valuable tool for building capacity and enabling migrants and service providers to create knowledge, develop appropriate tools, and harm reduction services for and with the dynamic and heterogeneous migrant communities.

Methodology /Activities
PaSuMi (2017-2019) is a 3-year community based participatory research project, funded by the German Ministry of Health, which aims to improve the involvement of migrant communities in drug prevention and harm reduction services, as well as to establish “Diversity” as an organisational development tool. It is conducted by the national association of community-based AIDS service organisations (Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe e.V.) in collaboration with partners from different immigrant communities, AIDS service organisations (ASO), drug service organisations and sex worker projects.
The components of the project include community-led projects conducted in five German cities, a series of capacity-building methodological workshops, and a participatory evaluation and development of recommendations for improving drug prevention and harm reduction services for migrants in Germany.

Results
To date community members have been trained as peers and/or peer researchers and supported to conduct 8 community-led CBPR-projects. Social workers received diversity trainings and trainings on participatory methods to enable them to work with heterogeneous communities and develop harm reduction services in collaborative and diversity-sensitive way. The results of the first phase of the project are evaluated in a participatory, cross-case manner.

Conclusions
The PaSuMi project shows that the involvement of highly marginalised migrant groups in harm reduction services is possible, if it is enabled. This takes resources, trained and committed personnel as well as an understanding and practice of participation that includes the provision of decision-making power to the migrant participants. Their participation in the project has positive effects on several levels to be discussed at the conference.