Reflection: MHST 632 Topic Selection

My topic of interest is the high rate of unregulated drug deaths occurring in British Columbia’s (BC) Northern Health Authority in comparison to other regions in the province. A population health framework that I think is highly relevant to my topic of interest is the Rural Health Systems Model (Canadian Institute of Health Information, n.d.).

Rural Health Systems Model:

The model provides a framework for identifying contextual factors that impact the health of populations, their needs, and health system performance in rural areas (Canadian Institute of Health Information, n.d.). Given rural and smaller urban communities are experiencing higher rates of both overdose and death due to overdose compared to more populated areas, the Rural Health System Model provides a meaningful framework for conceptualizing the issue in northern BC (Fernando et al., 2022).

I do not currently have any burning questions I hope to explore in the course; however, I am quite interested in assignment two – the development of a situational assessment specific to my topic and target population.

References:

Canadian Institute for Health Information (n.d.). Rural Health Systems Model. Retrieved September 8, 2025 from https://www.cihi.ca/en/rural-health-systems-model

Fernando, S., Hawkins, J., Kniseley, M., Sikora, M., Robson, J., Snyder, D., Salmon, A. (2022). The Overdose Crisis and Using Alone: Perspectives of People Who Use Drugs in Rural and Semi-Urban Areas of British Columbia. Substance Use & Misuse, 57(12), 1864–1872. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2022.2120361