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Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Infectious Diseases and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Policy Issues and Recommendations
Report details policy recommendations regarding infectious diseases, such as HIV and HCV, linked to injection drug use (IDU). Recommendations look at prevention as well as treatment. Features several important policy considerations for rural communities.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HIV Medicine Association, Infectious Disease Society of America, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society
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Drug Overdose Rates Are Highest in Places With the Most Economic and Family Distress
Examines county-level drug-related mortality as it relates to economic distress and family dissolution. Includes discussion of differences in mortality seen in farm-dependent and mining-dependent rural counties.
Author(s): Shannon M. Monnat
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Carsey School of Public Policy
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Preventing Opioid Overdoses Among Rural Americans
Policy brief focused on preventing rural opioid overdoses and reducing overdose deaths in rural areas. Identifies policy options and strategies including evidence-based prescribing methods, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and overdose reversing medication. Includes three brief case studies.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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What's MAT Got to Do with It? Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Rural America
Provides an overview of medication-assisted treatment (MAT), an evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, with information on the science behind the disorder and how three MAT medications work. Highlights rural health organizations providing MAT treatment.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Oversight Hearing on Opioids in Indian Country: Beyond the Crisis to Healing the Community
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on the opioid crisis in Indian Country. Features testimony from representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, the Indian Health Service, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, and the National Indian Health Board.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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Opioid Overdoses Treated in Emergency Departments
Describes trends in opioid overdose emergency department (ED) visits and discusses what the federal government, health departments, EDs, and healthcare providers can do. Includes links to related CDC resources.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The Opioid Crisis: Leadership and Innovation in the States
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing on state policy approaches to combating the opioid crisis. Features testimony from the governors of Maryland and Oregon detailing the opioid interventions implemented in their states.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Vital Signs: Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Suspected Opioid Overdoses — United States, July 2016-September 2017
Reports on changes in opioid overdoses seen in emergency departments (EDs) by region, state, and urbanization level. Addresses the need for real-time data to coordinate responses to outbreaks and the role ED data can play. Discusses how ED physicians and staff can help address future overdoses among ED patients. Figure 2 shows quarterly suspected opioid overdose data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore counties.
Author(s): Alana M. Vivolo-Kantor, Puja Seth, R. Matthew Gladden, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(9), 279-285
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Notes from the Field: HIV Infection Investigation in a Rural Area — West Virginia, 2017
Reports on an investigation by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources that began with 10 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection identified in three counties during January-July 2017. Describes how the investigation broadened to 15 counties based on injection drug use and sexual contacts. Identifies risk reduction and treatment options available in these counties and discusses strategies undertaken to limit further transmission of HIV.
Author(s): Mary E. Evans, Sarah M. Labuda, Vicki Hogan, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(8), 257-258
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Pain in the Nation Update: Deaths from Alcohol, Drugs and Suicide Reach the Highest Level Ever Recorded
Report details deaths related to alcohol, drugs, and suicide across the nation. Highlights rates for non-metro areas, as well as by race, gender, and by age groups, among others.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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