Brief Overdose Education Is Sufficient for Naloxone Distribution to Opioid Users
BACKGROUND:
While
drug users are frequently equipped with naloxone for lay opioid overdose
reversal, the amount of education needed to ensure knowledge of indications and
administration is unknown.
METHODS:
We
administered four instruments, assessing comfort and knowledge around opioid
overdose and naloxone administration, to opioid users receiving naloxone for
the first time (N=60) and upon returning for a refill (N=54) at community
distribution programs. Participants completed the instruments prior to
receiving naloxone; first-time recipients repeated the instruments immediately
after the standardized 5-10min education.
RESULTS:
Comfort
with recognition of, response to, and administration of naloxone for an
overdose event significantly increased after brief education among first-time
recipients (p<0.05). Knowledge of appropriate responses to opioid overdose
was high across all assessments; 96% of participants could identify at least
one acceptable action to assess and one acceptable action to care for an opioid
overdose. Facility with naloxone administration was high across all assessments
and significantly increased for intranasal administration after education for
first-time recipients (p<0.001). First-time recipients (before and after
education) and refillers demonstrated a high level of knowledge on the Brief
Overdose Recognition and Response Assessment, correctly identifying a mean of
13.7 out of 16 overdose scenarios.
CONCLUSIONS:
Opioid
users seeking naloxone in San Francisco have a high level of baseline knowledge
around recognizing and responding to opioid overdose and those returning for
refills retain that knowledge. Brief education is sufficient to improve comfort
and facility in recognizing and managing overdos
- 1San Francisco Department of Public Health, Substance Use Research Unit, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: Emily.behar@sfdph.org.
- 2San Francisco Department of Public Health, Substance Use Research Unit, San Francisco, CA, USA; University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- 3Harm Reduction Coalition, Oakland, CA, USA.
- 4San Francisco Department of Public Health, Substance Use Research Unit, San Francisco, CA, USA; University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015 Mar 1;148:209-12. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.12.009. Epub 2014 Dec 19.
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