Reflections on conducting Peer-Led Qualitative Research in British Columbia, Canada during COVID-19 Pandemic

In the province of British Columbia, illicit drug toxicity (overdose) deaths have increased during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior evidence suggests that engagement of people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) of substance use, often referred to as peers, in research and policy development is essential to ensure the development of comprehensive and relevant harm reduction interventions addressing the requirements of the PWLLE. Public health measures introduced due to COVID-19 have intensified barriers in engaging PWLLE in research settings. This article presents the challenges encountered in conducting peer-led research in BC and the ways in which these challenges were addressed in the context of a province-wide research project initiated by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.