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Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Harm Reduction – West Virginia Local Health Departments Lead Efforts to Mitigate Human and Financial Costs of Opioid Epidemic
Describes West Virginia public health departments' efforts to promote harm reduction programs, as a response to the opioid crisis and resulting overdose deaths. Gives examples of successful programs from across the state.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: West Virginia Association of Local Health Departments
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The Effects of Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination on Substance Use Among Youths Living in the Cherokee Nation
Study examining the association of racial discrimination and substance misuse from a sample of American Indian, American Indian and White, and White adolescents living in small rural communities of northeast Oklahoma within the Cherokee Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Service Area (CNTJSA).
Author(s): Brady A. Garrett, Bethany J. Livingston, Melvin D. Livingston, Kelli A. Komroc
Citation: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 26(3), 242–249
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
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Combatting the Opioid Epidemic with Provider and Public Education
Highlights from a conversation with Fred Wells Brason II, discussing community-based efforts to reduce opioid misuse and abuse in rural communities. Brason helped found Project Lazarus in Wilkes County, North Carolina, which reduced the overdose rate in Wilkes County by 72 percent over three years. The Project Lazarus model has since spread to more than 20 states and focuses on cross-sector collaboration, public and provider education, and increasing access to treatment.
Citation: Transforming Care: Reporting on Health System Improvement
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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A National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C: Phase Two Report
Report that considers strategies to eliminate Hepatitis B and C as a public health problem in the U.S. and potential barriers that could stand in the way of this goal. Includes recommendations for coordination and funding, as well as rural focused segments regarding injectable drugs such as opioids and other narcotics.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on a National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C, Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Acceptability of HIV Testing Sites Among Rural and Urban African Americans Who Use Cocaine
Focuses on rural versus urban African-American cocaine users in Arkansas and their views of different types of HIV testing sites. Compares the acceptability of testing at local health departments, clinics, community health centers, and more.
Author(s): D. Keith Branham, Tyrone F. Borders, Katharine E. Stewart, Geoffrey M. Curran, Brenda M. Booth
Citation: AIDS and Behavior, 21(2), 576-586
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
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Reducing Risky Sex among Rural African American Cocaine Users: A Controlled Trial
Details a study on a STI/HIV risk-reduction program for rural African American cocaine users. Looks specifically the intervention's effect on condom use and sexual risk negotiation skills, among other factors.
Author(s): Katharine E. Stewart, Patricia B. Wright, Brooke E. E. Montgomery, et al.
Citation: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 28(1), 528-547
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
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Treating the Rural Opioid Epidemic
Policy brief reviewing the barriers to implementing effective, high-quality treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues in rural areas. Includes policy recommendations for addressing these issues, focusing on access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) and funding for rural mental health infrastructure.
Author(s): Christine Hancock, Heidi Mennenga, Nikki King, et al.
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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A Community Partnership to Respond to the Heroin and Opioid Abuse Epidemic
Discusses the community response to heroin and opioid abuse in rural Carlton County, Minnesota. Details the county's collaboration with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and St. Louis County to form the Carlton County Drug Abuse Task Force.
Author(s): Laura C. Palombi, Joe Vargo, Laura Bennett, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 33(1), 110-113
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
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Alaska Opioid Policy Task Force: Final Recommendations
Provides recommendations supporting comprehensive public health prevention strategies to prevent and reduce opioid use, misuse, and abuse in rural and urban Alaska.
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Alaska Department of Health
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Vermont Hub-and-Spoke Model of Care For Opioid Use Disorder: Development, Implementation, and Impact
Discusses the development, application, and effectiveness of a hub-and-spoke system of care developed by addiction medicine physicians and public health officials to expand opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment due the continuous shortage of office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) providers in the rural state of Vermont.
Author(s): John R. Brooklyn, Stacey C. Sigmon
Citation: Journal of Addiction Medicine, 11(4), 286-292
Date: 2017
Type: Document
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