Pubdate: Sun, 21 Oct 2012
Source: Dawson Creek Daily News (CN BC)
Contact:  2012 Glacier Interactive Media
Website: http://www.dawsoncreekdailynews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/690
Note: Early in 2006, the Peace River Block News, along with a number 
of other Hollinger (parent company to Sterling Newspapers) 
properties, was purchased by Glacier Ventures International, who 
subsequently changed the name of the Peace River Block News to
Author: Allison Gibbard
Cited: Understanding the State of Industrial Camps in Northern BC:
http://mapinc.org/url/WWYujVa5

SEX AND DRUG HEALTH ISSUES IN CAMPS

Workers at camp work hard and play harder, which can increase the 
pressure on health services in local communities.

A report released yesterday by Northern Health highlights the drug 
and alcohol abuse found in many camps in the oil and gas industry.

"Researchers noted an atmosphere of partying all night, where workers 
are introduced to and enter the drug scene, and where older partiers 
set the standard for new workers at the camps," according to the report.

These habits often continue when they return home and can create 
problems within their families.

"The use of drugs and alcohol is seen as a way of blowing off steam 
after work or a normal way of life during a shift workers' leave 
period and can also lead to familial tensions and problems."

The mental stress of living in these camps can also increase the 
likelihood of substance abuse.

"(W)orkers in these camps can suffer from stress, anxiety and 
depression. These and other factors such as social isolation and lack 
of integration among new or temporary workers and permanent residents 
of host communities can lead to struggles with problematic use of substances."

Residents in "host communities" such as Fort St. John and Dawson 
Creek can develop a negative impression of oil patch workers because 
of their "readily visible" behaviour, such as "engaging in selected 
vices in local hotels and bars."

It is also leading to "high and increasing rates" of sexually 
transmitted infections (STIs) among those who live in camp, according 
to the report.

These are not new problems but proposed solutions, such as "dry 
camps" or company-provided counselling, do not seem to work.

All these factors - alcohol and drug use, safety concerns, STIs, and 
the physical effects associated with shift-work - can put added 
pressure on local health providers, according to the report.

"An aging rural population, coupled with increased industrial 
activity and rapid population grown from an influx of new workers 
places increased demands on and overwhelms existing infrastructure 
and health services," read the paper.

The study was commissioned to help Northern Health determine what 
health services are required in the Peace Region and other northern 
communities.

"The report was really intended to help us understand that nature of 
the population that lives in northern B.C. and works in northern B.C. 
so at this point what we're trying to do is understand who that 
population and what the needs of that population might be," said 
Cathy Ullrich, CEO of Northern Health.

"The issue of responsibility is an interesting issue," said Dr. 
Charles Jago, chair of the board.

"If these people are now coming into our facilities, we have a 
responsibility for people in the north -- whether sometimes they are 
from the U.S. and they're traveling through the north -- we have a 
responsibility if they get into an accident... I think industry has a 
responsibility too."

However, what is clear is that more studies are necessary to 
determine the needs of this population. Northern Health has already 
planned two more research papers, looking specifically at economic 
development and the health impact.

This paper concluded: "It is glaringly apparent that more information 
is needed about industrial camps in Northern B.C."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom