Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Overdose Response - This proposal seeks funding to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with overdoses related to substance use in target communities among adults aged 18-54. Substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), is a growing problem throughout South Dakota and there is a need to respond to high rates of overdose deaths in the state. Rural and Native American populations are disproportionately impacted by SUD/OUD and overdose, making South Dakota a significant area of need. Sixty-four of South Dakota’s 66 counties are either rural or frontier, and there are nine federally recognized American Indian tribes within state borders. Between 2016-2020, there were 2400 drug-related hospitalizations and 684 drug-related deaths in South Dakota, indicating there is both a need for and lack of available and accessible treatment and recovery resources for overdose response in the state. There is also a need for harm reduction resources as well as a need to address stigma surrounding SUD and overdose in the state. We are proposing to expand our current innovative START-SD program (Stigma, Treatment, Avoidance, and Recovery in Time). START-SD currently has two prongs, funded by separate RCORP awards, which address key barriers to the prevention, treatment, and recovery services for OUD and psychostimulant use disorder, respectively. The new START-SD-OR project would leverage the tremendous skills and resources from seven of our consortium organizations: the applicant agency, South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, Coteau des Prairies Health Care System, Face It TOGETHER, Straight Up Care, South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care, and Emily’s Hope. The target rural service area includes Yankton, Lyman, Roberts, and Hughes Counties, which have a combined population of 54,918 people. All four counties are listed as health professional shortage areas and mental health professional shortage areas, and all four counties are deemed to have an elevated risk for overdose and other substance-related outcomes. Through the START-SD-OR program, the project team and partner organizations will complete work to distribute harm reduction supplies, including naloxone prescriptions and fentanyl test strips, integrate evidence-based strategies for education and training activities among healthcare staff in the target counties, reinforce and grow existing peer-recovery support organizations and resources, and conduct anti-stigma work through community outreach and healthcare staff education. This multiprong approach will improve overall access and utilization of services and improve long-term outcomes in our target counties.
