Evaluation of Overdose Prevention Trainings in NYC: Knowledge and Self-Efficacy among Participants Twelve Months after Training
BACKGROUND:
Prevention
of unintentional opioid overdose deaths is effective through overdose
prevention trainings (OPTs), in which laypersons are taught overdose response
through six actions. This longitudinal study examines trainee knowledge twelve
months after OPT completion.
METHODS:
We
enrolled participants following OPT at six sites. At twelve months follow-up,
participants were asked to: name the drug overdoses that naloxone reverses;
name overdose response actions. We created a 6-point scale comprised of number
of correct overdose response actions mentioned (check breathing; administer
sternum rub; call 911; give rescue breathing; administer naloxone; put victim
in recovery position). We compared mean knowledge by participant
sociodemographic characteristics, confidence, and site of OPT training (indoors
versus outdoors).
RESULTS:
273 of
344 OPT participants were reached at twelve months. Nearly all (99%)
participants identified that naloxone reverses heroin; 77% opioid analgesics;
and 68% methadone overdoses. Overdose response actions most frequently
mentioned were giving naloxone (86%) and calling 911 (76%). The remaining four
actions were mentioned by less than 40% of participants. Overall mean knowledge
score was 2.7 out of 6. Mean knowledge scores were higher for college graduates
than those with less than college education (3.2 vs 2.6, p<0.001), for those
who felt very confident (mean score (ms) = 2.9), compared to somewhat confident
(ms = 2.4) and a little or not at all confident (ms = 1.5) in their ability to
reverse an overdose (p<.001), and for indoor-training recipients (3.0 vs
2.5, p = 0.02). There were no differences in mean knowledge scores for trainees
by age, race, or gender.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our
findings suggest the need for several improvements in OPT curriculum, including
emphasis on naloxone reversal of opioid analgesic and methadone overdoses, and
all 6 rescue actions. Lower knowledge scores among outdoor-trained participants
likely reflect session brevity, suggesting that outdoor trainings need to be
enhanced.
- 1a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene , Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care and Treatment , Queens , NY , USA.
- Subst Abus. 2016 Jan 5:0
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