Mississippi Public Health Institute

Mississippi (MS) has been among the states most adversely affected by the opioid epidemic, exhibiting an alarmingly elevated number of opioid prescriptions per resident. Naloxone distribution networks within MS remain in their infancy and fentanyl test strips are only now being reclassified so they are no longer banned as drug paraphernalia. Consequently, overdose deaths within MS remain at disturbingly high levels and are exacerbated by longstanding health disparities related to racial-ethnic stratification, poverty prevalence, rural remoteness, and the state's designation as a medically underserved region. The overarching goal of MS RCORP-OD is to create a sustainable, integrated, multi-disciplinary community-based overdose prevention and harm reduction system that reduces morbidity and mortality of persons with SUD/OUD, positioned to offer a holistic and complementary approach to overdose prevention and harm reduction. To increase access to care for people with SUD/OUD, the MS RCORP-OD project focuses on training and recruiting appropriate professionals and citizens to obtain, administer, and distribute naloxone. Training and development activities provided through MSPHI's Learning Network and local community partners will enable the team to train staff and providers to increase their capacity. Through such efforts, the community-based team will identify both mental health and SUD/OUD issues, given that they co-occur in the vast majority of the population of individuals with OUD. The MS RCORP-OD team will also provide effective services and referrals for treatment. The project's specific goals are as follows: • Goal 1: Enhance naloxone purchasing and distribution. • Goal 2: Develop a plan for the purchase, distribution, and utilization of fentanyl test strips in the catchment region. • Goal 3: Offer formalized training programs to enhance providers' ability to care for individuals with SUD/OUD. • Goal 4: Assess the implementation of Project ECHO in MS.