Despite the elevation of the opioid crisis in the U.S. to the level of a nationwide public health emergency in 2017, the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths has continued to rise. The impact of the opioid epidemic extends well beyond the tragedy of fatal overdose. Nonfatal overdose can result in brain injury and permanent disability, and…

Objective: To discuss the engagement of patients and stakeholders (i.e., faculty, staff, healthcare providers, and university administrators) in capacity building activities to prepare for future patient-centered research on collegiate recovery. Participants: 502 attended capacity building activities and provided input on priorities for future…

Drug addiction and misuse have long plagued communities throughout the country, with drug overdose claiming more than 750,000 lives over the past two decades. As the crisis is multifaceted, it requires and beckons all sectors to respond, including the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. This creates unique data sharing challenges. In response…

Similar to national trends, in Illinois, fatal opioid overdoses have risen. Black men (35+) outrank all other racial subgroups for the highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses in the state. To address this, Prevention First and the Illinois Department of Human Services developed a public health education campaign to support increasing enrollment in…

The PReventing Opioid Misuse In the SouthEast (PROMISE) Initiative team conducted a needs assessment to explore Mississippians' perceptions of the emerging issue of opioid misuse and to identify ways Extension professionals can assist in opioid misuse prevention. In this article, we describe the assessment process that included a series of…

Mental health professionals working in community mental health agencies are at high risk for burnout. The impact of this may lead to poor health and wellbeing of the employee, costly resources for the agency that continues to struggle with staff turnover, inconsistent service delivery and potentially poorer patient outcomes. The purpose of this…

Importance: Children experiencing parental opioid use disorder are a growing population at heightened risk of physical and mental health issues over the life course. Yet these children are less likely to receive comprehensive, ongoing health care and their parents are more likely to report barriers to access health care for their children.…

Background: E-cigarette prevention education aims to mitigate adolescent e-cigarette use. Such education is increasingly delivered through virtual/video-based teaching platforms (e.g. Zoom, Google Classrooms). However, there is little evidence about the effectiveness of virtual e-cigarette education compared to in-person education on adolescents'…

The urgency of this study has become vivid in the light of the growing problem of prevalence and use of new synthetic drug types. Lately there has been a tendency of expanding the range of psychologically active substances (PAS) used by addicts with the purpose of their illegal taking. The aim of this research is an attempt of systematizing and…

There is no "magic potion" or vaccine to prevent youth from using alcohol or other drugs. Adolescent substance abuse prevention programs have been largely ineffective because the messaging is taken for granted. Efforts based on theories of growth and development patterns, and are inclusive of strategies beyond the classroom and home,…

The last decade has seen an exponential increase in the use of illicit and prescription opioids during pregnancy. Opioid dependency during pregnancy increases the risks of obstetric complications for mothers and potential dangers for newborns during infancy and later in life. The mother-child dyad faces specific hurdles when it comes to getting…

The United States' War on Drugs encompasses a body of legislation characterized by punitive approaches to drug control. These policies have resulted in escalating incarceration rates and have extracted a particularly harsh toll on low-income people of color. This article argues that education on the War on Drugs is essential for effective practice…

Aims: Opioid substitution therapy (OST) is an evidence-based HIV prevention strategy for people who inject drugs (PWIDs). Yet, only 2.7% of Ukraine's estimated 310,000 PWIDs receive it despite free treatment since 2004. The multi-level barriers to entering OST among opioiddependent PWIDs have not been examined in Ukraine. Methods: A multi-year…

The purpose of the present study was to explore the lived experiences and psychological dynamics of current and formerly homeless adults on the island of Oahu, ages 18 to 55 years old. There are four key findings in this study. First, analysis of the data revealed some key psychological dynamics: addiction issues, mental health issues, childhood…

The relevance of the study is due to the development of a new stage of prevention and the need to justify new educational goals and objectives of the pedagogical prevention of addictive behavior in the educational environment. The purpose of this article is to examine the totality of the necessary and sufficient individual resources, that are…