Overdose prevention
Overdose deaths are preventable. Harm reduction offers evidence-based tools and strategies that reduce the risk of dying from a drug overdose. Almost 200 people die from an overdose every day, which equals 70,000 avoidable deaths every year.
People who use drugs can be supported with information to mitigate the risk of an overdose and to stop an overdose while it’s happening.
Increased Presence of Fentanyl in Cocaine Involved Fatal Overdoses: Implications for Prevention
This study aims to determine the contribution of opioids, and fentanyl in particular, to the increase in cocaine-involved overdose death from 2015 to 2016.
Women who Inject Drugs: Overlooked, yet Visable
This brief provides a comprehensive overview on women and injection drug use. Gender inequality is greatly magnified among women who inject drugs. Women who inject drugs are uniquely vulnerable to medical, legal, economic and social consequences, genderbased violence and loss of custody of their children, and experience high levels of stigma, both within the general society and among the community of people who use drugs.
Perspectives on Drugs: Preventing Overdose Deaths in Europe, EMCDDA 2018
This EMCDDA analysis describes some of the factors that increase the risk of fatal and non-fatal overdoses and a number of interventions developed to prevent these events.
Naloxone Focus Report
The ‘Naloxone in Europe’ focus report summarises the current landscape of naloxone and Take Home Nalaxone (THN) programmes across Europe, detailing the case of Scotland as an example of good THN practice.
European research on risk factors for overdose, Drugnet Ireland Issue 49
The literature points to several main areas for prevention, both to reduce the risk of an overdose occurring and to prevent fatality in the event of an overdose.
SAVING LIVES: Best practice guidance on the provision of naloxone for people who might experience or witness an opioid overdose
Building on the findings from Release’s research on naloxone in England, Release hosted the Naloxone Steering Group 2019 in April 2019, in partnership with the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London. The objective of the steering group was to get key stakeholders together for a day to discuss some of the main aspects of naloxone provision in the UK and to produce guidelines on the provision of naloxone for people who might experience or witness an opioid overdose.
Nalxone Focus Report
With the aim of expanding on this topic, this ‘Naloxone in Europe’ focus report summarises the current landscape of naloxone and Take Home Nalaxone (THN) programmes across Europe, detailing the case of Scotland as an example of good THN practice.
Overdose Prevention –Status Quo and Challenges
An innovative way of preventing opiate overdose deaths is through emerging online technologies.Online user forums as well as informative websites and mobile phone apps, are an asset in improvingaccess to both information and naloxone itself.
Overdose Prevention –new technology-based Solutions
Fatal and non-fatal overdoses related to opiates use are on the rise in many parts of the world, with North America, Australia and Central Asia being the most affected regions. In Europe as well opioid-related overdose deaths show a continuous increase, at least since 2013. Naloxone is the centrepiece of the response to opioid overdose. This opioid antagonist medication rapidly and completely reversesthe effects of opioids and thus, when timely administered, prevents opiate overdose death. Globally, about half of the countries (101 out of 196) had registered injectable naloxone by September 2017, a requirement for the drug to be legally available in the country and for licenses to be issued for the manufacture, importation and/or distribution of the drug. In Europe, by the same time, 80% of the countries (37 out of 45) had Naloxone registered by national authorities. Lack of legislation and registration can hinder Naloxone access. Policymakers and advocates can count with several guidelines to support them in drafting required policies and standard operating procedures to allowthe drug’s manufacture, importation and/or distribution.
