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Rural Response to the Opioid Crisis – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Response to the Opioid Crisis.

It's an Addiction Crisis: Across Minnesota, the "Opioid Crisis" Is So Much More Than Just Opioids
Details the opioid crisis in the state of Minnesota. Includes statistics on overdose deaths and treatment admissions for alcohol, heroin, methamphetamine, and other opiates. Covers hospital addition costs and workforce issues posing a barrier to access in rural areas. Reviews 3 rural community models working to address substance abuse.
Author(s): Marnie Werner
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
Provides strategies for healthcare providers, communities, and local governments to help prevent opioid-related overdoses and deaths. Includes facts for community members, essential steps for first responders, information for prescribers, safety advice for patients and family members, and resources for overdose survivors and their families.
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Promising Practice: Summits Tackle Opioid Misuse and Treatment in Rural Illinois
Describes the Opioid Crisis Next Door summits, a series of conferences sponsored by the Illinois Center for Rural Health (ICRH) to increase the awareness of the opioid and heroin crisis in rural communities, and to identify ways for these communities to effectively respond to their misuse.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Running the Numbers: County Level Dynamics of Heroin Mortality in North Carolina
Presents a study on opioid overdose mortality in North Carolina. Compares counties that have higher rates of overdose mortality with those with lower rates and aims to identify the factors that contribute to those rates.
Author(s): Alexander H Gunn, Bryce Bartlett, Grace Feng, et al.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 79(3), 195-200
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
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2017 Colorado Opioid Safety Pilot Results Report
Describes an opioid safety pilot study that implemented the ALTO, or alternative to opioid, approach for pain treatment in 7 urban and 3 rural hospital emergency departments in Colorado. Discusses ALTO's multifaceted treatment approach for pain management, data collection and analysis, and lessons learned.
Additional links: Pre-Launch Checklist: Using Alternatives to Opioids (ALTOs) in Hospital Emergency Departments
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Hospital Association
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Opioid White Paper: Analysis of Responses to Committee Request for Information
Details an analysis of the information received by the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee regarding the opioid crisis. Discusses the current state of the crisis and the measures currently in place regarding prevention and treatment.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Moving Away from the Tip of the Pyramid: Screening and Brief Intervention for Risky Alcohol and Opioid Use in Underserved Patients
Summarizes the findings of an online survey of a practice-based research network of 126 medical providers serving Hispanic/Latino and Native American patients in rural and urban settings in New Mexico. Discusses clinician perspectives on the need to address substance use in primary care, current screening and treatment practices, and their willingness to adapt practices to meet the needs of the patient populations.
Author(s): Kamilla L. Venner, Victoria Sánchez, Jacqueline Garcia, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(2), 243-251
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
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Understanding the Science of Pain and Opioids
An overview of how opioids impact the brain and of the brain disease model of opioid use disorder. Includes a list of risk factors related to drug misuse.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The "M" of MAT: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
A brief overview of medications used to treat opioid use disorder, as part of whole-patient treatment which includes counseling and behavioral therapies.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Combating the Opioid Crisis: Prevention and Public Health Solutions
Presents the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on preventative measures and the role of public health in combating the opioid crisis. Features testimony from representatives of the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and the National Indian Health Board, among others.
Additional links: Michael E. Kilkenny Testimony, Stacy Bohlen Testimony
Date: 03/2018
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
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Last Updated: 12/31/2024