Citation

Lewis DA, Park JN, Vail L, Sine M, Welsh C, Sherman SG. Am. J. Public Health 2016; 106(7): 1243-1246.

Affiliation

Dinah A. Lewis and Laura Vail are with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Ju Nyeong Park and Susan G. Sherman are with the Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore. Mark Sine is with the Baltimore Student Harm Reduction Coalition, Baltimore. Christopher Welsh is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2016.303141

PMID

27077351

Abstract

Although historically the majority of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs have targeted opioid users, states are increasingly passing laws that enable third-party prescriptions of naloxone to individuals who may be able to respond to an overdose, including friends and family members of individuals who use opioids. In this report, we discuss the Baltimore Student Harm Reduction Coalition (BSHRC) OEND program, Maryland's first community-based, state-authorized training program under a new law allowing third-party naloxone prescription. In an 8-month pilot period, 250 free naloxone kits were distributed, and 3 overdose reversals were reported to BSHRC. Trainings were effective in increasing self-efficacy surrounding overdose prevention and response, which appears to persist at up to 12 months following the training.

Language: en