Overdose Prevention 101 Guide

How to get started with overdose prevention work in your community.

 

Communication Strategies

You need more than an “elevator speech” when preparing to engage new partners in your work. Effective messaging helps others understand what your coalition or organization is, what it is you are doing to prevent overdose, and most importantly, how they can support your efforts. An effective communication strategy includes identifying your target audience, crafting a persuasive narrative that meets your goals, and using outreach tools to get the word out.

 

Crafting a Narrative

People struggling with SUD are one of the most vulnerable populations. Utilizing powerful communication strategies can help focus the attention on persuasive narratives to addressing the overdose crisis locally and reduce the stigma that might circulate in your community.

By simultaneously humanizing this crisis and offering solutions, you can engage audiences who might otherwise ignore this reality or not see their role in helping address this challenge. 

 

Addressing Stigma

While Americans’ awareness of opioid addiction has increased, a recent study showed that 44% of Americans believe opioid addiction indicates a lack of willpower or discipline, and a third regard it as a character defect or the result of bad parenting.

Helping communities understand that substance use disorder is a disease and not a moral failing or sign of bad character can help increase support for harm reduction strategies like naloxone, as well as increase access to addiction treatment. Many experts see the need to reduce stigma as a key element to making progress in the overall fight against opioid addiction. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy spoke out against doctors’ reluctance to prescribe buprenorphine and other drugs approved to treat opioid use disorder. In a public letter Murthy stated: “We can shape how the rest of the country sees addiction by talking about and treating it as a chronic illness, not a moral failing​.” 

 

Related resources

Language Matters

 

Words to avoid

  • Addict, alcoholic

  • Drug problem

  • Drug habit

  • Drug abuse

  • Drug abuser

  • Clean/dirty

  • Former/reformed addict/alcoholic

  • Opioid replacement/methadone maintenance

Words to use

  • Person with a substance use disorder

  • Person with alcohol use disorder

  • Drug misuse

  • Abstinent/not currently using

  • Actively using

  • Medication-assisted treatment

  • Medication for assisted recovery