Harm Reduction Resources

Displaying 13 - 24 of 323

This is a peer-reviewed article on an observational intervention study of Project Lazarus, which is a community-based response to overdose deaths implemented in 74 of 100 North Carolina counties.

Response Approach:
  • Cautious Opioid Prescribing
  • Early Intervention
  • Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Overdose prevention
Stakeholders:
  • Advocates / Peers
  • Community Coalitions
  • Community Health Officials
  • Criminal Justice
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Hospitals
  • Law Enforcement
  • Medical
  • Policymakers
Peer-reviewed Article

This academic paper is a systematic review that describes the current state of the literature on community-based opioid overdose prevention programs (OOPPs), with particular focus on the effectiveness of these programs. 

The current evidence from nonrandomized studies suggests that bystanders (mostly opioid users) can and will use naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses when properly trained, and that this training can be done successfully through OOPPs.

Response Approach:
  • Educational
  • Overdose prevention
Stakeholders:
  • Advocates / Peers
  • Community Coalitions
  • Community Health Officials
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Policymakers
Peer-reviewed Article

This review of studies concentrates on establishing the effectiveness of harm reduction interventions as established in Australia and identifying gaps in knowledge.

Harm reduction interventions reviewed include needle syringe programs, supervised injecting facilities, non-injecting routes of administration, outreach, education and information, brief interventions, overdose prevention interventions, and legal and regulatory frameworks.

Findings suggest that the integration of a number of harm reduction interventions will produce the greatest impact. Harms arise from the illegal status of drugs and drug use. Thus, there are a number of harm reduction interventions that involve legislative or regulatory interventions.

Response Approach:
  • Educational
  • Overdose prevention
  • Safe Injection Site
  • Syringe service program / Needle exchange
Stakeholders:
  • Community Coalitions
  • Community Health Officials
  • First Responders
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Law Enforcement
  • Medical
  • Policymakers

This is an academic paper which summarizes the literature on academic detailing (AD) interventions for opioids. Academic detailing is an education outreach intervention to encourage more cautious opioid prescribing for providers and may improve patient outcomes. AD might also include education on naloxone. The authors conclude that AD programs were generally effective based on a variety of measures.

Response Approach:
  • Cautious Opioid Prescribing
  • Educational
Stakeholders:
  • Health Insurers
  • Hospitals
  • Medical
  • Pharmacies
Peer-reviewed Article

toolkit for provider organizations working to improve opioid safety. The toolkit summarizes best practices and contains links to resources and tools that a provider can adapt in building or testing changes for an organization and its patients.

Response Approach:
  • Cautious Opioid Prescribing
  • Early Intervention
  • Educational
  • Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Overdose prevention
Stakeholders:
  • Community Health Officials
  • Health Insurers
  • Hospitals
  • Medical

toolkit from the City of Boston's Office of Recovery Services, directed towards a city-level response to substance misuse, that summarizes multifaceted strategies. It offers a guide for how to talk about substance use, an overview of the treatment system, and types of partnerships and policies that may strengthen a city’s response to this crisis.

Response Approach:
  • Diversion
  • Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Overdose prevention
  • Recovery coaching
  • Syringe service program / Needle exchange
Stakeholders:
  • Community Coalitions
  • Community Health Officials
  • First Responders
  • Policymakers

This is a report from Shatterproof that provides guidance, research, and rationale on the types of language used to describe addiction and addiction-related terms that can reduce stigma.  

Response Approach:
  • Educational
Stakeholders:
  • Addiction Treatment Providers
  • Advocates / Peers
  • Community Coalitions
  • Community Health Officials
  • Criminal Justice
  • Employers
  • First Responders
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Health Insurers
  • Hospitals
  • Law Enforcement
  • Medical
  • Pharmacies
  • Policymakers

This is an academic paper that focuses on the importance of naloxone distribution during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Response Approach:
  • COVID / Coronavirus related
  • Overdose prevention
Stakeholders:
  • Harm Reduction Specialists

This is an academic article that gives an overview of the barriers to implementing evidence-based interventions to address the opioid crisis and how the HEALing Communities Study, a multi-year initiative, aims to overcome these barriers through cautious opioid prescribing, expanding medications for opioid use disorder, increasing access to naloxone, and leveraging community collaboration. 

Response Approach:
  • Cautious Opioid Prescribing
  • Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Overdose prevention
Stakeholders:
  • Community Coalitions
  • Community Health Officials
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Policymakers
Peer-reviewed Article

This is an issue brief from the Brandeis Opioid Resource Connector that examines the role of social determinants of health (SDoH) in the opioid crisis and how addressing them might improve health outcomes. It focuses on three central domains of SDoH, employment, housing, and education, and highlights promising program models in each domain as implemented by communities in the United States.

Response Approach:
  • Housing, Education, and Employment
Stakeholders:
  • Addiction Treatment Providers
  • Advocates / Peers
  • Community Health Officials
  • Criminal Justice
  • Employers
  • First Responders
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Health Insurers
  • Hospitals
  • Law Enforcement
  • Medical
  • Pharmacies
  • Policymakers

This is a report from the National Governors Association which describes syringe service and harm reduction programs implemented in Kentucky in order to curb infectious disease transmission and establish new pathways to substance use disorder treatment and recovery. Key insights from this implementation in Kentucky are highlighted, with a focus on the cross-sector partnerships.

Response Approach:
  • Overdose prevention
  • Syringe service program / Needle exchange
Stakeholders:
  • Harm Reduction Specialists
  • Policymakers

This is a report by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) that offers strategies on how health plans can best address the opioid crisis, broken down into each component of the continuum of care: prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery. It also highlights the successes of several health plans. 

Response Approach:
  • Cautious Opioid Prescribing
  • Early Intervention
  • Educational
  • Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
Stakeholders:
  • Addiction Treatment Providers
  • Advocates / Peers
  • Community Health Officials
  • Health Insurers
  • Hospitals
  • Medical
  • Pharmacies