A Health and Human Services (HHS) report by RAND that presents findings from a scoping study to assess the types of data sources and data-linkage efforts that are currently being used or could potentially be leveraged to support research and evaluations to combat the opioid crisis. Alternative pain management, overdose prevention, and prevention/treatment/recovery strategies are addressed. Secondary data sources are also discussed that are relevant to opioid research. 

This is a collection of reports from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that provides resources to support the adoption and implementation of deflection and pre-arrest programs (DPAP) to better support people at risk of opioid overdose. Successful initiatives across the United States are highlighted. There is a focus on implementing a harm reduction approach, integrating peer services, and  DPAP in rural communities. 

This academic paper addresses the fact that many currently employed interventions (prescriber guidelines, prescription monitoring programs, naloxone rescue) address the prevention of OUD or downstream complications but not treatment of the underlying disorder itself.

An OUD Cascade of Care framework could help structure local and national efforts to combat the opioid crisis by identifying key targets, interventions, and quality indicators across populations and settings to achieve these ends. Improved data collection and reporting methodology will be imperative.

This is a report which describes how to develop a more coordinated and comprehensive health education system in regards to opioid use disorder. The report provides information on the current health professional education environment and also a survey of its regulations. The literature review specifically focuses on the education of medical professionals involved in pain management and the substance use disorder workforce. 

This research paper found that implementation of an emergency department (ED)–based peer recovery support program for opioid overdose was associated with improvements in initiation of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The efficacy of peer support depended on factors such as implementation success, program embeddedness, and availability of other hospital- and community-based services to treat opioid use disorder.

This is a report from the Maryland Hospital Association that provides recommendations to hospitals on protocols in place for patients treated for an overdose or identified as having a substance use disorder. These protocols include universal screening, naloxone access, facilitated referrals, and peer recovery coaches. 

This is a toolkit from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for employers. There is an online course, divided into five modules, that gives an overview of the legal and operational issues an employer must consider in dealing with an employee’s use of opioids and other substances, as well as additional resources. 

This is a report from the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at UPenn that provides four recommendations for the federal government to consider in addressing the opioid crisis in the domains of cautious opioid prescribing, treatment and recovery services, harm reduction strategies, and efficient distribution of money from opioid litigation. 

This is a report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse that provides proven and promising strategies from a range of evidence-based resources, thus offering a clear and concise set of actions that states can take. Its aim is to help state policymakers understand what a public health approach looks like and how best to implement one.

This document seeks to arm policymakers with the information they need to replace misinformation and stigma with research-based facts and practical, health-based solutions. There is a wide array of existing state initiatives highlighted. 

This is a report from SAMHSA that gives an overview of HEALing Communities Study and how this project engaged community coalitions. This report's purpose is to help build and sustain community coalitions to address the opioid crisis. 

This is an academic paper that reviews the literature on including people who use drugs (PWUD) as part of research, intervention development and implementation, and policy advocacy. The barriers of stigma and discrimination must be addressed to improve engagement of PWUD in the decision-making process, though this population brings a critical skill set and unique perspective to the table. 

This academic paper summarizes a peer recovery support program to engage individuals using opioids and link them with a range of services. Results show that this program effectively engaged and linked individuals to mental health and treatment services.