This is a white paper from the Office of Women's Health that was developed by conducting a review of the literature focused on topics around opioid use disorders and women, as well as consulting with subject matter experts. This report begins by providing an overview of the opioid epidemic and…

This report presents a menu of evidence-based practices for reducing opioid overdose deaths and real-world tips for their implementation. It includes methods for identifying high-risk populations, reviews opioid overdose prevention education and naloxone distribution strategies, and describes…

This is an academic paper review that gives a summary of opioid-related interventions delivered before, during, and after incarceration internationally. Findings suggest that correctional facilities should scale up medications for opioid use disorder among incarcerated persons with opioid use…

This is a report from the National Association of Counties and the Appalachian Regional Commission that details the state of the opioid crisis in Appalachia and presents recommendations to help county leaders respond to this public health emergency. In addition, individual county case studies…

This is a report from The Sentencing Project that examines the sources of the opioid crisis, surveys health and justice policy responses at the federal and state levels, and draws on lessons from past drug crises to provide guidance on how to proceed. An overarching theme in this report is to…

This is a report from several collaborating organizations that shows that addiction stigma is deeply entrenched in the U.S. healthcare system and the professionals tasked with delivering care. It can guide a public health strategy to reduce stigma and improve services for people who use drugs…

This is a consensus study report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on integrating prevention and treatment services at the intersection of opioid use disorder and infectious diseases. The need for and background of integration are discussed, recommendations are…

This is an academic paper that discusses the important role that pharmacies can play in the opioid crisis, from safe dispensing to patient counseling on safe storage and disposal of prescription opioids to naloxone distribution. Two program models, a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement for…

This is an academic paper that describes the development of the Ability, Inspiration and Motivation (AIM) group, an alternative peer support group that aims to remove medication stigma from peer recovery. Given that many people on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) feel stigmatized in 12…

This is an academic paper that identifies and classifies digital technologies being developed, implemented, and evaluated for overdose prevention. These technologies include monitoring vital signs for an overdose, alerting first responders of an overdose, or a combination of both. 

This report details an environmental scan which evaluates the extent to which overdose prevention and response efforts are implemented among those under community supervision following release from incarceration. The scan included a literature review, interviews, and discussions with experts on…

This report is a primer for those working in rural communities who want to familiarize themselves with the basic strategies, resources, and tools for working in overdose prevention. It includes case studies and links to resources such as the Rural Community Toolbox, the Opioid Response Network,…

This is a report from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that provides local and state health departments with information, resources, and tools to implement effective strategies to support linking people who are at risk of opioid overdose to care. It is organized by seven strategies…

This is a report from the Pew Research Center that gives a comprehensive overview of regulations and other policies at the state level that affect opioid treatment programs that primarily deliver methadone treatment. These policies are visually depicted using U.S. maps.  

This issue brief from Trust for America's Health and Well-Being Trust provides national and state data from 1999-2017 on deaths of despair, which are defined as deaths attributed to drug…

This is an issue brief that provides an update on the first two "Pain in the Nation" reports. Opioid overdose deaths have declined but deaths involving alcohol, suicide, synethetic opioids, and psychostimulants…

This guidebook from the Urban Institute has been developed to provide community-based organizations with an overview of jail reentry work and to help them develop and sustain a partnership with their local jail. It discusses how to build a partnership with the local jail and includes concrete…

This is a report from the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care that summarizes the Patient and Family Advisor (PFA) Summit on the opioid crisis, held in 2018. Characteristics of meaningful partnerships with patients and families are discussed and several promising partnerships are…

This is an academic paper that found that prescription opioid pill counts were higher for individuals in rural areas, suggesting that interventions tailored to drug safety and disposal, such as lock boxes and prescription drop-off boxes, may be more effective in rural areas. 

Recovery coaches, trained peers with a history of substance use disorder (SUD) who are formally embedded in the health care team, may be a cost-effective approach to support outpatient management of SUD treatment. This study evaluated the integration of peer recovery coaches in general medical…