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New MMWR Shows Substantial Increases in Adolescent Overdose Deaths

The latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) uses data from CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) to describe trends and characteristics of overdose deaths among adolescents aged 10–19. This report, “Drug Overdose Deaths Among Persons Aged 10-19 Years — United States, July 2019–December 2021,” highlights five main findings regarding adolescent drug overdose deaths:  

• Overdose deaths among adolescents aged 10-19 have increased substantially since the end of 2019.  
• Over 80% of these deaths involved illicitly manufactured fentanyls (IMFs). 
• Almost 25% had evidence of counterfeit pills which often contain IMFs or other illicit drugs. 
• Two-thirds had a potential bystander present, but most provided no overdose response, primarily because of spatial separation from decedents and lack of awareness that decedents were using drugs. 
• Approximately 40% of adolescents who died of a drug overdose had a history of mental health conditions or mental health treatment. 

Click here to learn more and read the full MMWR.

NEW RESOURCES

Resources from Partners and Other Federal Organizations

• Legality of Drug Checking Equipment in the United States as of August 31, 2022. Presents the results of a legal landscape scan regarding drug checking equipment, including Fentanyl Test Strips (FTS), in all 50 U.S. States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of August 31, 2022.
• Responding to Disruptions in Access to Opioid Prescriptions: A Guide for State Health Departments and Their Partners. Reflects the current state and federal landscape regarding disruptions, shares updated recommendations on strategies states might use to mitigate risks to patients affected by a disruption, and includes additional state examples.

Other Resources

• Characteristics of fatal drug overdoses among college age decedents in Tennessee, 2019-2020. Reviews demographic characteristics, personal circumstances, past prescription history, and toxicology data for decedents ages 18-24 in Tennessee in 2019-2020.
• Laced and Lethal Campaign. Provides information on pills and powders laced with fentanyl in King County. Laced & Lethal has developed a variety of evidence-based educational content and resources that are uniquely tailored for teens and adults.
• Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD): Correctional Health Implementation Toolkit. Serves as a guide to assist with designing, developing, and implementing a program that would allow Medication for Opioid Use Disorder inside the tightly controlled correctional setting.

Recorded Webinars OD2A Strategy 3 Webinar: Innovative Surveillance Lessons Learned, Year 3 Data Products, and Goals for Year 4. Shares key accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned for Strategy 3 during the third year of OD2A. OD2A Strategy 5 Community of Practice: Using Opioid Rapid Response Programming to Strengthen Prevention & Response. Provides an overview of the Opioid Rapid Response Program (ORRP) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials’ Guidebook for states preparing for a disruption in patients’ access to prescription opioids.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• February 2: Overview of the US Overdose Epidemic for New OD2A Staff. Join to learn about the four waves of the overdose epidemic in the US, substances involved, impacted populations, and current trends.
• February 9: Key Partnerships in Overdose Prevention. Hear from an expert panel of presenters from four national organizations who will share guidance and insights on different types of OD2A partners, concrete examples of partners, and how partners support OD2A programming.
• February 14: Measuring and Reducing Addiction Stigma (3-Part Webinar Series). The series introduces Shatterproof’s Addiction Stigma Index (SASI) and how to apply the tool in jurisdictions. Part 2 will help attendees apply the SASI to real-life examples and demonstrate how it works in the field. This session will also demonstrate what can and cannot be determined with the survey data and look at example patterns and trends.
• February 16: Save the Date: February 2023 DOSE Quarterly Call. Register for this event to hear program updates and for a demonstration of the CDC surveillance dashboards.
• February 28. Measuring and Reducing Addiction Stigma (3-Part Webinar Series). Part 3 will engage attendees through an interactive presentation that helps them understand best practices for campaign messaging for narrative change, application of select content strategies when communicating to priority audiences, and the role of measurement and iteration in continuous improvement.

Peer Events

• February 8: Florida: PDMP Insight: From Concept to Implementation – A Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Framework for PDMP Programs. Join to learn about implementing PDMP Insight. 
• February 27: Michigan: Emphasizing the 2 in OD2A: Efforts to enhance data-informed decision making within jurisdictions. Join your fellow evaluators to participate in this important discussion about data-informed decision making.
• February 28: Washington: How is Recovery Different in the Age of Fentanyl? Hear from the chief executive officer of Evergreen Treatment Services in Seattle, as he describes the impact this crisis has on the workforce, and how his organization provides support to staff.

OD2A FORUMS

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