ARKANSAS FR-CARA - Arkansas DHS Division of Aging, Adult & Behavioral Health Services and the University of Arkansas System, Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) will conduct prevention and education initiatives in Arkansas Delta counties to implement/sustain effective overdose prevention and treatment referral services, including naloxone training and distribution; with objectives to reduce prescription drug/opioid overdose-related deaths and promote recovery. The population of focus is comprised of residents of 22 Arkansas Delta Counties (Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clay, Cross, Desha, Drew, Greene, Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Prairie, Randolph, St. Francis, Union, and Woodruff): 1) eligible for the Rural Set Aside, 2) not located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area, and 3) not receiving community-level overdose prevention/intervention services provided through Arkansas’s previously awarded grants (SAMHSA’s PDO, STR, and SOR initiatives). Multiple socioeconomic vulnerabilities of rural opioid users (e.g., poverty, low health literacy, high rate of incarceration, etc.) not only put them at risk for overdose and death, but also impact their ability to seek treatment and increase potential for encounters with law enforcement and involvement of child welfare agencies. Limited access to substance abuse treatment and addiction counseling in the catchment area, coupled with constrained ability to pay for services, make OUD treatment and recovery particularly challenging. Arkansas is in the top 10% for persons with OUD who need but do not receive treatment. We will implement, improve, and sustain overdose prevention education in Delta counties using processes, protocols, and mechanisms previously developed for PDO community outreach efforts, to reduce the number of prescription drug/opioid overdose-related deaths and adverse events among target community residents. CJI will: 1) convene key stakeholders in target counties to serve on local advisory councils; 2) distribute naloxone, with training on its administration (online and face-to-face) to first responder agencies and treatment center staff/families in recovery; and 3) conduct media campaigns focusing on the Joshua Pauley Act, Good Samaritan Law, and health literacy campaigns about “how to talk to your doctor” (about opioids), in a total of 19 Delta counties (4 in year 1 and 5 each in years 2, 3, and 4), serving approximately 17,000 unduplicated individuals over the life of the grant (3,500 in year 1 and 4,500 in years 2 through 4). CJI will report volume of materials distributed, trainings conducted, attendance at trainings, results derived from course pre- and post-tests, monthly impressions for billboards, radio airings/print ads, and number and demographic characteristics of opioid overdose victims saved with naloxone.
