Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
Comparative StudyRandomized comparison of two web-based interventions on immediate and 30-day opioid overdose knowledge in three unique risk groups.
In response to the opioid overdose epidemic, scalable interventions that instruct at-risk populations how to prevent and respond to overdose scenarios are needed. ⋯ A web-based intervention increased opioid overdose knowledge and decreased overdose risk behavior immediately and at a one-month follow-up, suggesting that this brief, practical, and scalable program could have utility in several populations who are at-risk of opioid overdose.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
EditorialBehavior change, health, and health disparities 2019: Opioids, tobacco, and treatment adherence.
This Special Issue of Preventive Medicine (PM) is the 6th in a series on behavior change, health, and health disparities. This is a topic of critical importance to improving U. S. population health. ⋯ The remaining six reports focus on addressing the substantive challenges that tobacco use and non-adherence with medical regimens represent in these same communities. While giving the opioid epidemic the attention that it well deserves, we cannot afford to do so at the expense of these other longstanding and also devastating public health problems. Across each of these topics we include contributions from well-regarded investigators, clinicians, and policymakers to acquaint readers with recent accomplishments while also noting knowledge gaps and unmet challenges.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
Deploying science to change hearts and minds: Responding to the opioid crisis.
The U. S. opioid epidemic, now in its third decade, continues to claim tens of thousands of lives each year. Despite strong scientific evidence to support the deployment of effective interventions from prevention to treatment, implementation and access to quality care continue to lag, in part, due to continued opioid prescribing, siloing of treatment services for those with opioid use disorder (OUD), public support for non-evidence-based practices, stigma, and discrimination. ⋯ Detoxification is probably the most common form of "treatment" for OUD, but the evidence shows that detoxification actually increases the risk for overdose. Expansion of MOUD delivery in the criminal justice system, health care systems and communities is essential to stemming the tide of this epidemic. This article is a call to action for the scientific community to ensure that scientific evidence is guiding patient care, funding for treatment, and policy decisions that address the opioid epidemic.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
Commentary: Opioid use disorder and suicide: An important opportunity to address two significant public health epidemics.
Nationwide, the opioid epidemic continues to have a significant and widespread adverse impact on morbidity and mortality. The number of individuals dying by suicide and unintentional overdose has continued to increase over the past decade, with opioids being involved in a significant proportion of each category of mortality in 2017. Currently, most strategies for decreasing opioid-overdose deaths do not include systematic screening for suicide risk, nor do they address the necessity to customize interventions for those who misuse opioids to decrease near-term suicide risk (defined here as less than 72 h) factors. Improved screening of near-term and chronic suicide risk along with rapid access to treatment is of critical importance to prevent opioid-related deaths by suicide.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
ReviewA review of tobacco regulatory science research on vulnerable populations.
In 2013 the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health established fourteen Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS) to advance scientific knowledge relevant to conducting evidence-based tobacco regulation. ⋯ However, considerable variability was noted in the amount of research conducted across the various vulnerable populations and scientific domains. Most notably, relatively few studies focused on active military/veterans or sexual/gender minorities, and the scientific domains of marketing influences and communications were conspicuously underrepresented. These are important knowledge gaps to address going forward.