Podcast Episode 13: "Rethinking Harm Reduction: Transformative Strategies for Better Health"3/27/2025
Host: Anna Morgan-Barsamian, MPH, RN, PMP, Senior Manager, Training & Education, NaRCAD
A conversation with Maggie Kaufmann, MPH, MA, Director of Harm Reduction Programs, University of Illinois Chicago Tag: Podcast Series, Evidence Based Medicine, Harm Reduction
How can harm reduction strategies not only save lives but also challenge stigma and transform communities?
In this episode, Maggie Kaufmann, Director of Harm Reduction Programs at the University of Illinois Chicago dives deep into harm reduction strategies, exploring how these evidence-based approaches save lives, combat stigma, and integrate with academic detailing projects. Maggie shares insights on transformative and creative harm reduction initiatives, including drug checking, mobile medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) services, overdose prevention sites, and community-based education in local theaters. Tune in for a compelling conversation on the evolving landscape of harm reduction and its impact on public health. If you have any questions about integrating harm reduction into academic detailing projects, please contact Maggie at [email protected]. (Click here for the audio transcription.) 
Maggie has been with the Community Outreach Intervention Projects (COIP) at University of Illinois Chicago for almost ten years in several roles including overseeing both research studies and service provision for People Who Use Drugs (PWUD). She brings with her expertise in harm reduction, hepatitis C prevention interventions, case management/recovery support and clinical capacity building. She earned her Master of Public Health and Master of Arts in Anthropology from University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), in 2014. Prior to her work with COIP she taught courses in anthropology at the undergraduate level with a focus on the effects of racism and other modes of discrimination on healthcare access and quality. Currently, she is the Harm Reduction Services Coordinator for COIP, Project Director for a NIDA-funded study evaluating an intervention to reduce opioid overdoses among those with criminal legal system involvement in Illinois, and Director of the NACCHO-funded, Harm Reduction Academic Detailing Project at UIC. She also has experience with provider education and clinical capacity building and regularly speaks to diverse groups in the health sciences around harm reduction and how to integrate these principles and practices into clinical settings. She is passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of PWUD and reducing stigma around substance use to increase access to nonjudgmental, person-centered care and supportive services.
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