Resources
29 Results (showing 1 - 10)
Results sorted by updated date (oldest first)
Results sorted by updated date (oldest first)
Posted 1/19/2022 (updated 3/26/2024)
With the worst opioid overdose death crisis in the United States history, urgent new approaches to assist people who use drugs onto medication for opioid use disorder are necessary. In this commentary, addiction medicine clinicians and drug user union representatives align to argue that conventional ways of buprenorphine initiation that require periods of withdrawal must be augmented with additional novel approaches to initiation.
Posted 2/16/2022 (updated 3/26/2024)
Nearly 92,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2020, marking a 30% increase from the year before, a 75% increase over five years and by far the highest annual total on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Preliminary figures suggest that the 2021 death toll from overdoses may be even higher.
While overdose death rates have increased in every major demographic group in recent years, no group has seen a bigger increase than Black men. As a result, Black men have overtaken White men and are now on par with American Indian or Alaska Native men as the demographic groups most likely to die from overdoses.
Posted 2/16/2022 (updated 3/26/2024)
In the United States, combined stimulant/opioid overdose mortality has risen dramatically over the last decade. These increases may particularly affect non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations. We used death certificate data from the US National Center for Health Statistics (2007–2019) to compare state-level trends in overdose mortality due to opioids in combination with 1) cocaine and 2) methamphetamine and other stimulants (MOS) across racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Asian American/Pacific Islander).
Posted 3/9/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
A disproportionate number of people in jails have substance use disorders (SUDs).1 Incarceration provides a valuable opportunity for identifying SUD and addressing withdrawal.* Within the first few hours and days of detainment, individuals who have suddenly stopped using alcohol, opioids, or other drugs may experience withdrawal symptoms, particularly when they have used the substances heavily or long-term. Without its identification and timely subsequent medical attention, withdrawal can lead to serious injury or death. Deaths from withdrawal are preventable, and jail administrators have a pressing responsibility to establish and implement withdrawal policy and protocols that will save lives and ensure legal compliance. This brief describes the scope of the challenge, provides an overview of constitutional rights and key legislation related to substance use withdrawal, and outlines steps for creating a comprehensive response to SUD.
Posted 6/10/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
During this session, we discussed what meaningful inclusion is (and is not) and we offered tangible steps toward developing trust, dignity, and inclusion of PWUDs. Meeting people where they are requires an element of internal self-reflection and honesty, both personally and within the organization.
Posted 6/14/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
In 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began supporting research on treatment for opioid use disorder in criminal justice settings. The Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) studies the effectiveness of new medications and other interventions as part of the NIH HEAL Initiative – Helping to End Addiction Long-Term.
Posted 3/23/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Over the past 20 years, drug overdose deaths have increased dramatically in the United States. Most of these deaths involved opioids, including prescription pain medications, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. These are called opioid-related overdoses and often occur as a result of respiratory depression caused by opioids, even when other medications and drugs are involved.
Posted 7/25/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
The interactive graphics allow readers to explore how the crisis of overdose deaths involving opioid use has not only grown in magnitude since 2000, but has also changed in character.
Posted 8/2/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
A new brief from the National Center for Health Statistics gives geographic detail on the latest increase in overdose death rates. Overall, urban counties had higher rates, but eight states – California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia – had rates that were higher in rural counties.
Posted 11/1/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Racial/ethnic minorities have experienced disproportionate opioid-related overdose death rates in recent years. In this context, inequities were examined in community-based naloxone access across racial/ethnic groups in Massachusetts.