New research from the Center for Health and Justice Research at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute finds a dramatic increase in recent years in overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, particularly for African Americans. In 2011, the report shows that Caucasian residents faced a risk that was three times greater than that of African Americans. However, those numbers have shifted and jumped drastically. Young African American males are now the majority of victims. Such findings should serve as a call to action to develop policies and programs to address the rise in fentanyl-related deaths and the increasing disparities found among victims.
As part of the ongoing Know the O Facts stigma reduction campaign, a new video has been released that focuses on explaining why opioid use is a disease. It features the stories of several people in active recovery who share their struggles of battling opioid use disorder.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched two new opioid trainings that support providers in safer prescribing of opioids for chronic pain. The modules are part of a series of interactive online trainings that feature recommendations from the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. The two new modules are called “Determining Whether to Initiate Opioids for Chronic Pain” and “Implementing CDC’s Opioid Prescribing Guideline into Clinical Practice.” Both modules include clinical scenarios and tools and a resource library to enhance learning.
According to a new report published by the CDC, the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, is now the drug most often involved in fatal overdoses across the United States. The report highlights that between 2011 and 2015, heroin was the most common culprit responsible for drug overdoses, but in 2016 fentanyl became the deadliest drug. To read the full report, click here.
|