• Anna V Williams, John Marsden, and John Strang.
• Addictions Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
• Addiction. 2014 Feb 1;109(2):250-9.

AimsTo evaluate a heroin overdose management training programme for family members based on emergency recovery procedures and take-home naloxone (THN) administration.DesignA two-group, parallel-arm, non-blinded, randomized controlled trial of group-based training versus an information-only control.SettingTraining events delivered in community addiction treatment services in three locations in England.ParticipantsA total of 187 family members and carers allocated to receive either THN training or basic information on opioid overdose management (n = 95 and n = 92, respectively), with 123 participants completing the study.MeasurementsThe primary outcome measure was a self-completion Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS; range 0-45) and an Opioid Overdose Attitudes Scale (OOAS; range 28-140) was the secondary outcome measure. Each group was assessed before receiving their assigned condition and followed-up 3 months after. Events of witnessing and managing an overdose during follow-up were also recorded.FindingsAt follow-up, study participants who had received THN training reported greater overdose-related knowledge relative to those receiving basic information only [OOKS mean difference, 4.08 (95% confidence interval, 2.10-6.06; P < 0.001); Cohen's d = 0.74 (0.37-1.10)]. There were also more positive opioid overdose-related attitudes among the trained group at follow-up [OOAS mean difference, 7.47 (3.13-11.82); P = 0.001; d = 0.61 (0.25-0.97)]. At the individual level 35 and 54%, respectively, of the experimental group increased their knowledge and attitudes compared with 11 and 30% of the control group. During follow-up, 13 participants witnessed an overdose with naloxone administered on eight occasions: five among the THN-trained group and three among the controls.ConclusionsTake-home naloxone training for family members of heroin users increases opioid overdose-related knowledge and competence and these benefits are well retained after 3 months.© 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

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