To assist the state of Ohio in addressing the opioid epidemic, the Ohio Attorney General appointed experts in a variety of academic disciplines to the Scientific Committee on Opioid Prevention and Education (SCOPE). The focus of SCOPE is the application of scientific principles to the development of prevention and educational strategies for reducing substance use disorder and related harms (e.g., promoting naloxone awareness). Naloxone awareness is a step in the naloxone cascade, which is a useful model for understanding the sequential steps laypeople must take to prepare themselves to intervene using naloxone; other steps include training and previous administration experience. Prior work has explored correlates of these steps among individuals with risky substance use, but fewer studies have focused on broader populations containing potential bystanders (e.g., family and community members).
This study was a secondary data analysis of patients from three urban emergency departments. Subsamples differed across five models (n = 479–1208) and included opioid-exposed and -naïve participants. Logistic regression characterized clinically useful sociodemographic predictors (e.g., race, ethnicity, education, employment, housing status) of naloxone awareness, self-efficacy (which relates to training), and previous-overdose administration. Two additional logistic regressions tested associations between risk factors for witnessing an opioid overdose and two cascade steps (awareness and self-efficacy).
Non-White race, Hispanic ethnicity, and lower education predicted not being aware of naloxone; non-White race also predicted lower naloxone self-efficacy, and older age predicted lack of previous-overdose administration. Having family members with risky opioid use was heavily associated with awareness, while personal substance-use behaviors and previous overdose witnessing were associated with both awareness and higher naloxone self-efficacy.
Characteristics associated with lower likelihood of completing each cascade step highlight opportunities for targeted interventions. Specifically, findings indicated the importance of expanding naloxone education and training programs to more diverse populations and to family members of individuals with risky opioid use. Further, these findings demonstrate how a state-funded program such as SCOPE can have a positive impact on identifying strategies that may assist in reducing mortality associated with opioid overdose.
Mobile substance use treatment units are effective approaches to increase treatment access and reduce barriers to opioid use disorder (OUD) care. However, little is known about the economic costs of maintaining and operating these units. This study aimed to estimate the economic costs of starting and maintaining mobile units providing harm reduction, overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND), and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
As part of the HEALing Communities Study, four communities in Massachusetts (Bourne/Sandwich, Brockton, Gloucester, Salem) implemented mobile units offering OEND and MOUD (buprenorphine and naltrexone only); each selected different services tailored to their community. All provided MOUD linkage via telehealth, but only one offered in-person MOUD prescribing on the unit. We retrospectively collected detailed resource utilization data from invoices to estimate the direct economic costs from August 2020 through June 2022. Cost components were categorized into start-up and operating costs. We calculated total economic cost over the study period and the average monthly operating cost.
Implementing a mobile unit offering OEND and MOUD required a one-time median start-up cost of $59,762 (range: $52,062–$113,671), with 80 % of those costs attributed to the vehicle purchase. The median monthly operating cost was $14,464. The largest cost category for all mobile units was personnel costs. The monthly ongoing costs varied by community settings and services: approximately $5000 for two urban communities offering OEND and MOUD linkage via telehealth (Gloucester, Salem), $28,000 for a rural community (Bourne/Sandwich), and $23,000 for an urban community also providing in-person MOUD prescribing on the unit (Brockton).
The economic costs of mobile substance use treatment and harm reduction units are substantial but vary by community settings and services offered. Our results provide valuable community-level economic data to stakeholders and policymakers considering establishing and/or expanding mobile units with OEND and MOUD services. Further exploration of cost-effectiveness and efficiency should be considered across different settings.
Emergency department (ED)-based peer recovery coach (PRC) programs can improve access to substance use disorder treatment (SUD) for ED patients. As literature on early stages of PRC implementation is limited, we conducted a qualitative assessment of ED PRC program implementation from several US-based PRC programs focusing on barriers and facilitators for implementation and providing recommendations based on the findings.
We collected qualitative data from 39 key informants (peer recovery coaches, PRC program managers, ED physicians and staff, representatives of community-based organizations) via 6 focus groups and 21 interviews in February–December 2023. We transcribed audio-recordings and analyzed data using codebook thematic analysis.
We identified the following major themes related to specific barriers and recommendations to address them. To facilitate timely linkage to PRCs, programs would regularly inform ED staff about the program and its linkage procedures, establish trust between PRC and ED staff, streamline the linkage procedures, and choose an “opt-out” linkage approach. To address barriers related to external referrals, programs use “warm handoff” and “warm line” strategies, maintain and update a comprehensive catalog of resources, and familiarize peer coaches with local service providers. Telehealth services implementation requires addressing logistical barriers, ensuring patients' privacy, and training peer coaches on building trust and rapport online. Peer coaches' wellness and quality of services can be improved by limiting PRC's workload, prioritizing quality over quantity, facilitating self-, peer- and professional care to mitigate stress and burnout; and, importantly, by providing supportive supervision and training to peer coaches and advocating for PRC team as an equal partner in the ED settings. To facilitate PRC program adoption and sustainment program managers engage local communities and program champions, seek diverse sources of funding, and advocate for structural changes to accommodate recruitment and retention of peer recovery coaches.
We compiled a wealth of best practices used by PRC programs to address numerous implementation barriers and challenges. These recommendations are intended for PRC program planners, managers and champions, hospital leadership, and state and local public health agencies leading SUD epidemic response.