
Resource Library
Toolkits, guides, and other resources vetted by experts in overdose prevention.
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Black History Month 2022: Policy Action to Support Black Health and Wellness
This brief recommends policies to end the systemic and structural racism that continue to prevent Black Americans from achieving optimal health.
Free NARCAN Nasal Spray for Eligible Schools
This fact sheet provides information about the Emergent BioSolutions Free Goods Program, which is offering free units of NARCAN® to high schools, colleges, and universities.
5 Ways to Create Compelling Messages about Childhood Trauma Using Data
This article provides five ways to strategically present data regarding childhood trauma. These five tips for presenting numbers aim to advance efforts to reduce adversity, promote resilience and improve health outcomes.
TED, “How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime”
Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.
CDC Webpage on ACEs
This webpage provides information about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). It has information on risks, prevention, research, resources, etc. related to ACEs.
Addiction doc says: It’s not the drugs. It’s the ACEs…adverse childhood experiences.”
This website provides background information on ACEs as well as a test to determine the number of ACEs a person has. There is also research and resources linked.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
This website provides information about specific types of trauma (including symptoms and behaviors associated with the trauma), resources for addressing the trauma, and information on treatments that work.
Take The ACE Quiz – And Learn What It Does And Doesn’t Mean
This website links the ACEs quiz and also information to decipher what the score you received means.
COPN Measurement Guide
This measurement guide draws from on-the-ground work with an array of local overdose prevention coalitions affiliated with the Center for Health Leadership and Practice’s overdose prevention networks and is organized around the sequence in which coalitions need to work with data.
CDC Pocket Guide: Tapering Opioids for Chronic Pain
Follow up regularly with patients to determine whether opioids are meeting treatment goals and whether opioids can be reduced to lower dosage or discontinued. Use this guide to gain insight on the best way to taper patients with chronic pain.
CHOMP - Less is More - Writing Prescriptions a Safer Way
The Monterey County Prescribe Safe Initiative is an organization that wants to help physicians with safe prescribing. Read through some of the solutions that have been working in Monterey County.
Non-Opioid Treatments for Chronic Pain Fact Sheet
Patients with pain should receive treatment that provides the greatest benefit. Opioids are not the first-line therapy for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care. Evidence suggests that nonopioid treatments, including nonopioid medications and nonpharmacological therapies, can provide relief to those suffering from chronic pain, and are safer. Read through this fact sheet to get a better understanding of how to effectively approach non-opioid solutions to chronic pain.
Health Plan Rx for the Opioid Epidemic
Health plans can influence the behavior of providers and patients, prevent overprescribing, ensure appropriate treatment is available — and save lives. Use this four part guide to change the way in which the epidemic is impacting your community.
Why Health Plans Should Go to the “MAT” in the Fight Against Opioid Addiction
MAT has been proven to save lives, improve quality of life, and lower medical costs, but remains inaccessible to almost 90% of the people it could help. This paper outlines concrete strategies that public and private plans can implement in their efforts to ensure that their members have access to MAT when and where they need it.
Recommendations for Safe Opioid Prescribing
Safe Med LA, the opioid coalition for LA county created a 10-page recommendation on safe prescribing, broken down into six main focus areas: (1) Safe Opioid Prescribing; (2) Avoid Escalating Opioid Doses; (3) Avoid Dangerous Medication Combinations ; (4) Safe Tapering Practices; (5) Concurrent Drug and Alcohol Use; (6) Opioid Use Disorder and Medications for Addiction Treatment. Use this recommendation in conjunction with the Safe Opioid Prescribing Recommendations Template to customize the guidelines for your own communities and prescribers.
Lowering the Demand for Opioids
As the epidemic evolves, clinicians are prescribing fewer opioids. However, the demand for synthetic opioids including heroin and fentanyl are on the rise. What can we do? This infographic will go through six elements of lowering the demand of opioids, along with a case example.
CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
This guideline provides recommendations for primary care clinicians who are prescribing opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
CDPH Resources for Opioid Prescribers
An inclusive resource sheet with various tools for prescribers.
COPN Safer Prescribing Fact Sheet
Opioids can be safe when carefully prescribed and monitored by a clinician, but they are not generally effective in treating long-term chronic pain and they have the potential to become addictive and misused. Prescribing guidelines are an important mechanism to align practices with evidence and safety. Use this fact sheet to learn more about safe prescribing.
Evidence-Based Strategies for Preventing Opioid Overdose: What’s Working in the United States
This document is to assist community leaders, local and regional organizers, non-profit groups, law enforcement, public health, and members of the public in understanding and navigating effective strategies to prevent opioid overdose in their communities.