Exploring Staff Preparedness: Knowledge and Attitudes about Opioid Overdose Response and Use of Naloxone among Treatment and Corrections Staff

• In Event: Factors Influencing Opioid Overdose Prevention Practices in Substance Abuse and Community Corrections Programs

Abstract

Increases in the number of opioid dependent individuals in the community translates into increases in the number of opioid addicted clients served by community-based corrections and substance abuse programs. With this increase comes an increase in the risk of client overdose and death, possibly in the presence of staff. Consequently, this study examines staff knowledge of and attitudes toward opioid overdose response, with a specific focus on the use of naloxone to reverse an overdose. The study uses data from a 70-item survey that was administered to a random sample of more than 5,000 staff working in community-based substance abuse and corrections programs in Ohio. Survey items included demographics, tenure, recovery status, experiences with overdose events and multiple-item indices measuring: knowledge of naloxone and opiate overdose symptoms, treatment orientation, overdose prevention and reversal attitudes, attitudes about naloxone distribution, and readiness to intervene in an opioid overdose. Analyses employed factor analytic methods and multivariable logistic regression to estimate interrelationships of measures and their associations with important behavioral outcomes, with the primary outcome identified as the willingness of staff to personally carry and administer naloxone as part of their employment duties.

Authors

• Amber Nicole Manzo, University of Cincinnati

• Kimberly Sperber, Center for Health and Human Services Research, Talbert House

• Erin Winstanley, University of Cincinnati