Stigmatize the use, not the user? Attitudes on opioid use, drug injection, treatment, and overdose prevention in rural communities

Stigma is a known barrier to treating substance use disorders and dramatically diminishes the quality of life of people who use drugs (PWUD). A study has found that stigma against PWUD may be especially pronounced in rural areas due to their decreased anonymity and residents' limited access, or resistance, to “neutralizing” information on factors associated with drug use.

The study published in Social Science and Medicine analyzed interviews with stakeholders from July 2018 and February 2019. Participants included professionals from local law enforcement, courts, healthcare organizations, emergency management services and faith-based, and social services organizations. Most stakeholders, particularly law enforcement, perceived PWUD and nonmedical drug use negatively in general, questioned the character, agency and extrinsic value of PWUD, and used labels (e.g. “addict,” “abuser,” etc.) that may be perceived as stigmatizing. Most respondents, including PWUD, characterized their communities as largely unaware or dismissive of the bio-medical and sociocultural explanations for drug use and toward harm reduction services (e.g., syringe services) and naloxone.

The study concluded that rural stigma against PWUD is a substantial issue. Stigma prevention efforts in these communities should aim to improve public knowledge on the intricate factors contributing to opioid use and drug injection and harm reduction programming's moral and fiscal value.

Identifying counties at risk of high overdose mortality burden during the emerging fentanyl epidemic in the USA: a predictive statistical modelling study

The emergence of fentanyl around 2013 represented a new, deadly stage of the opioid epidemic in the United States. A study published in The Lancet Public Health in 2021 aimed to develop a statistical regression approach to identify counties at the highest risk of high overdose mortality in the subsequent years by predicting annual county-level overdose death rates across the contiguous United States and to validate their approach against observed overdose mortality data collected between 2013 and 2018. The model shows that a regression approach can effectively predict county-level overdose death rates and serve as a risk assessment tool to identify future high mortality counties throughout an emerging drug use epidemic.

Prevalence and Co-occurrence of Alcohol, Nicotine, and Other Substance Use Disorder Diagnoses Among US Transgender and Cisgender Adults

Substance use disorders are a major source of morbidity and mortality in the United States. National data comparing the prevalence of substance use disorder diagnoses (SUDDs) among transgender and cisgender individuals are lacking in the United States. A study published by the JAMA Network sought to investigate the prevalence of SUDDs among transgender and cisgender adults and to identify within-group and between-group differences by age, gender, and geographic location. In the study, the prevalence of SUDDs was significantly elevated among transgender adults relative to their cisgender peers. These findings underscore the need for culturally tailored clinical interventions to treat substance use disorder in transgender populations.

Drug Overdose Dashboard

Looking for drug overdose data? State and county level data relating to drug overdose deaths, nonfatal overdoses, opioid prescribing and much more can be found on the Drug Overdose Dashboard. Additional overdose data can be found on StatsExplorer. Please reach out to the DOP team to ask data questions.

Follow us! @INDTrauma

Check out our website:

UPCOMING EVENTS

Engaging Communities During the Pandemic Response and Beyond

The pandemic has disrupted routine planning and operating procedures for health agencies. It also presents new opportunities as agencies rethink how they engage with each other and their communities. In this two-part video series, we chat with ASTHO President-Elect Anne Zink and Justa Encarnacion about how they are engaging tribal leaders and diverse communities to aid their COVID-19 response and recovery.

Watch part one and two.

Incorporating Fentanyl Test Strips in Community Substance Use Programming

2 – 3 p.m., EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 4

The webinar presenter will highlight the general background of fentanyl test strips and their efficacy, as well as how to gain community buy-in for their utilization including with law enforcement.  Participants can learn more about the essential elements of developing, implementing, and evaluating effective fentanyl test strip distribution programs.

Click here to register.

Advanced Motivational Interviewing

1 – 4:15 p.m., EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Thursday, Aug. 5

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered, evidence-based, goal-oriented method for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence with the individual. This active, skill-building workshop provides participants with an understanding of the benchmarks for competent MI practice, as well as opportunities to build skills toward those benchmarks in practice conversations. Participants will also learn to integrate Brief Action Planning into their use of MI, and are encouraged to consider ongoing training and coached practice to continue to develop their skills.

This training occurs over two half days from 1pm - 4:15 pm EST.  Participants must attend both sessions in their entirety to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Information for registration is located here.

Treating the Heart of Addiction: NAADAC

3 - 4 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 11

There has been recent emphasis on the role of beliefs, motivation, and medication in the treatment of disorders, including substance use disorder and gambling disorder. This session examines the role of emotion in the development and maintenance of these disorders, as well as the role of emotions in treatment. As treatment moves toward medical models, this discussion considers the heart of emotions and therapeutic alliance as central parts of the change process to establish freedom from the harmful behavioral processes and attainment of long-term recovery.

Click here to register.

Introduction to Stigma

1 – 2 p.m., EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 17

This occasional seminar series presented by the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health explores the cutting-edge of stigma science, policy and practice. The series will draw on insights from national and international experts with the aim of building awareness and skills in the use of stigma concepts and evidence. Through this series, the goal is to contribute to developing a shared literacy around key concepts in stigma, centrally involve people with lived experience in examining and unpacking research and advance our efforts to reduce the effects of stigma in Australia.

Click here to register.