International Nursing Harm Reduction Network

The International Nursing Harm Reduction Network (INHRN) is an international coalition of nurses working in a variety of community, prison, and acute care hospital settings.

Nurses, midwives and health visitors are uniquely placed in health care systems around the world to adopt and implement harm reduction strategies. Their day-to-day work brings them into contact (directly or indirectly) with substance users - whether in specialist services, community settings, health visiting, district nursing, midwifery settings, and Accident & Emergency Hospital Units.

There are over 12 million nurses, midwives and health visitors in the world, and they are key players in the promotion of harm reduction in health care practice - often coming into contact with people with substance use issues when they are at their most vulnerable.

Across the world, these public health professionals use harm reduction interventions and approaches to eliminate bacterial and viral infections, curb the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne viruses amongst drug users, mitigate the harmful use of drugs, and act as agents for improving health and lifestyle behaviour to individuals and communities.