Iowa Naloxone Expansion and Training (IA-NEXT) - The University of Iowa Addiction and Recovery Collaborative (UI ARC) at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics will implement the Iowa Naloxone EXpansion and Training (IA-NEXT) Project to expand access to naloxone for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. The project will implement a training of trainers (ToT) program for 100 students in the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. The students will then educate pharmacists, nurses, other healthcare professionals, and school staff throughout the State of Iowa about opioid overdose, overdose reversal, and naloxone to improve outcomes for individuals in Iowa at risk of fatal overdose. The IA-NEXT Project will serve both rural and urban counties: of the 99 counties in the State of Iowa, 12 counties are identified as urban counties and 87 are rural counties according to the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. In 2023 in Iowa, there are 2,955 practicing pharmacists and 389 pharmacy students enrolled at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. There are 50,629 Registered Nurses with active Iowa licenses. For the 2023 school year, there are 1,304 public schools, serving 498,629 students and 237 private schools serving 45,817 students in Iowa. Goals and objectives of the IA-NEXT Project include 1) Increase the number of Iowa Pharmacists who are trained to provide education about opioid overdose and overdose reversal with naloxone. The project will develop a Train the Trainer curriculum for student pharmacists, who will then provide educational sessions covering opioid overdose, overdose reversal, and naloxone. The sessions will occur in community-based sessions, targeted to pharmacists, school nurses, and other interested healthcare providers and stakeholders. Student pharmacists will also provide ToT training to 15 pharmacists practicing in rural areas who can then provide trainings to community stakeholders. 2) Increase access to naloxone, along with education about opioid overdose and the use of naloxone in overdose reversal, in Iowa schools. The IA-NEXT Project will expand the Naloxone in Schools protocol (a volunteer project increasing education and training for school nurses and staff across the State of Iowa and increasing access to naloxone in schools). The student pharmacists will provide training to 150 school nurses and training to staff in 120 public or private schools in rural and urban counties. The student pharmacists will also provide ToT training to 20 school nurses, who will then go on to deliver training in schools, including schools in rural Iowa counties.
