Education, Outreach, & Training
Misinformation or the lack of evidence-based information on substance use can perpetuate stigma by both community members and professionals working in the field. Further, research continually finds new evidenced-based treatments and approaches for responding to the substance use epidemic. For this reason, ongoing education and trainings are necessary to effectively respond to this crisis. These can include trainings on prescriber education and the risks and signs of overprescribing opiates for pain, public awareness campaigns to shift the stereotypes of addiction, evidenced-based treatments and assessments for justice practitioners, and education on safely disposing of unused or unwanted medications.
Related Subjects
Prescriber Education
Educating prescribers on the risks of overprescribing and alternatives to opioid medications for pain management can lead to fewer or lower dose opioid prescriptions, which, in turn, lessens a patient’s risks for addiction.
Public Awareness Campaigns
Public awareness and education campaigns play an important role in the fight against addiction. These campaigns provide community members with tools and information about the risks of prescription and illicit opioids, substance use and misuse, and treatment resources to prevent or reduce substance use and misuse and overdose deaths.
Public Safety & Justice Practitioner Education
Effective responses to illicit substance use and misuse include comprehensive training for the public safety, criminal justice, and behavioral health professionals who encounter its devastating effects daily. Law enforcement and other first responders frequently find themselves on the front lines, providing care and comfort for overdose victims and families.
Comprehensive Secure & Responsible Drug Disposal Project
The Comprehensive Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Program took aim at one of the unsung drivers of the nation’s substance use epidemic—unused prescription medications that fill American medicine cabinets—by aligning state and local efforts to dispose of drugs with successful federal initiatives
Stigma
Nearly two-thirds of prison and jail inmates have a substance use disorder (SUD), and these individuals’ risk of opioid overdose...
