Enhancing health and safety through interdisciplinary collaboration: a qualitative study of experiences from Harm Reduction and Medical teams at a large electronic music festival in Canada

Abstract Background Electronic dance music (EDM) festivals are known to be high-risk for a wide range of substance-related adverse health outcomes. Harm Reduction (HR) services are becoming more prevalent at these events, often focusing on minimizing risks associated with recreational substance use. While research aimed at reducing the number of adverse health events has previously focused on attendee perspectives and descriptive outcome data at EDM festivals, this study examines the perspectives of on-site HR and medical service providers on interdisciplinary collaboration between services. Research was conducted at a large multi-day Canadian EDM festival to identify the perceived benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as recommendations for improving such collaboration that may ultimately reduce adverse health outcomes. Methods Semi-structured interviews following an interview guide were conducted with nine key informants from Medical services and two HR services: Drug Checking and a support space for attendees feeling overwhelmed. Interviews explored informants’ perspectives on interdisciplinary collaboration between services. Interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results We explored three themes in our study: (1) benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, (2) challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration, and (3) recommendations for improvement in interdisciplinary collaboration. HR services in this study were universally perceived to reduce the number of adverse health events requiring on-site Medical services at the festival. Interdisciplinary collaboration between HR and Medical services was perceived by both services to be important for capacity building and allowing each to provide effective attendee care. Challenges identified included differing perspectives and skill sets between services and reluctance to burden other services. Recommendations for interdisciplinary collaboration included developing formal channels of inter-team communication, building inter-team relationships prior to events and critical needs, ensuring skills for the identification of medical needs present in HR Sanctuary-like spaces, humility across teams, physical proximity between services, and experienced volunteers rooted in festival culture. Conclusions We identified key benefits, challenges, and recommendations for enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration at a multi-day Canadian EDM festival. Additionally, we found that informants from the Medical and HR teams viewed interdisciplinary collaboration and each team’s unique services as critical for reducing on-site adverse health outcomes.