Addictive behaviors
-
Addictive behaviors · Nov 2018
Medical, psychosocial, and treatment predictors of opioid overdose among high risk opioid users.
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. It is imperative to explore predictors of opioid overdose in order to facilitate targeted treatment and prevention efforts. The present study was conducted as an exploratory examination of the factors associated with having a past opioid overdose. ⋯ Overall, this study demonstrated certain demographic and drug use factors associated with elevated risk for an overdose. Understanding the risk factors associated with drug overdose can lead to targeted naloxone training and distribution to prevent fatal overdoses.
-
Addictive behaviors · Nov 2018
Naloxone formulation for overdose reversal preference among patients receiving opioids for pain management.
Opioid-related overdose has increased 137% in the past decade. Training nonmedical bystanders to administer naloxone (Narcan™) is a widely-researched intervention that has been associated with decreases in overdose rates in the communities in which it has been implemented. A recent review advocated for noninjectable formulations of naloxone, however patient preference for naloxone formulations has not yet been examined (Strang et al., 2016). ⋯ Two independent cohorts of respondents who were receiving opioid medications for pain management reported a preference for noninjectable over injectable formulations of naloxone to reverse an opioid overdose. Though initial preference is only one of many factors that impacts ultimate public acceptance and uptake of a new product, these results support the additional research and development of noninjectable naloxone formulations.
-
Addictive behaviors · Nov 2018
Mixed methods formative evaluation of a collaborative care program to decrease risky opioid prescribing and increase non-pharmacologic approaches to pain management.
Opioid prescribing and subsequent rates of serious harms have dramatically increased in the past two decades, yet there are still significant barriers to reduction of risky opioid regimens. This formative evaluation utilized a mixed-methods approach to identify barriers and factors that may facilitate the successful implementation of Primary Care-Integrated Pain Support (PIPS), a clinical program designed to support the reduction of risky opioid regimens while increasing the uptake of non-pharmacologic treatment modalities. ⋯ While organizational readiness for implementing PIPS appears high, modifications to our implementation facilitation strategy (e.g., establishing clinical pharmacists as champions; marketing PIPS to leadership as a way to improve VA opioid safety metrics) may improve capacity of the sites to implement PIPS successfully.
-
Addictive behaviors · Nov 2018
Reprint of Trends and key correlates of prescription opioid injection misuse in the United States.
Despite concerns over increasing harms associated with prescription opioid injection misuse, there is a paucity of research on the magnitude, characteristics, injection practices, and syringe sources for people who inject prescription opioids; limiting the implementation of targeted policy and programmatic initiatives. ⋯ This study found significant increases in prescription opioid injection misuse trends in the U.S. These findings underscore the need to bring to scale evidence-based interventions to increase the provision of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders and expand access to comprehensive risk-reduction services for people who inject drugs.