Addressing opioid overdose deaths: The vision for the HEALing communities study

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence 2020-12, Vol.217, p.108329-108329, Article 108329
• Main Authors: Chandler, Redonna K., Villani, Jennifer, Clarke, Thomas, McCance-Katz, Elinore F., Volkow, Nora D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictions; Ambition; Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Drug abuse; Drug overdose; Epidemics; Evidence-based practice; Evidence-Based Practice - methods; Evidence-Based Practice - trends; Evidence-based practices; Fatalities; Healing; HEALing communities study; Helping to End Addiction Long-term; Humans; Implementation; Medications for opioid use disorder; Mental health; Narcotics; Opiate Overdose - diagnosis; Opiate Overdose - mortality; Opiate Overdose - prevention & control; Opioid use disorder; Opioid-Related Disorders - diagnosis; Opioid-Related Disorders - drug therapy; Opioid-Related Disorders - mortality; Opioids; Overdose; Overdoses; Pandemics; Public health; Public Health - methods; Public Health - trends; Substance abuse; United States - epidemiology; United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - trends
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108329

•National Institutes of Health and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Organization partner to support the HEALing Communities Study.•HEALing Communities Study goal to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40 % in 3 years across highly impacted communities. The United States is facing two devastating public health crises– the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this context, one of the most ambitious implementation studies in addiction research is moving forward. Launched in May 2019, the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) was developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM Initiative (National Institutes of Health, 2020). The goal for this research was to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40 % in three years by enhancing and integrating the delivery of multiple evidence-based practices (EBPs) with proven effectiveness in reducing opioid overdose deaths across health care, justice, and community settings. This paper describes the initial vision, goals, and objectives of this initiative; the impact of COVID-19; and the potential for knowledge to be generated from HCS at the intersection of an unrelenting epidemic of opioid misuse and overdoses and the ravishing COVID-19 pandemic.