Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
Louisiana Public Health Overdose Surveillance and Prevention - Louisiana was not spared from the unprecedented surge of drug-related overdose deaths in this country in the last three years. As the COVID-19 pandemic suspended or reduced access to inpatient and outpatient services, harm reduction resources, community supports, and family connections, the supply of illicit fentanyl rushed rapidly across our state. According to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Louisiana ranked 7th in the country in drug overdose deaths with an age-adjusted rate of 42.7 deaths per 100,000 population. When examining the rates of all drug overdose deaths by parish, over half of the parishes have overdose rates higher than the national average reported by the CDC. Since 2016, the Office of Public Health entered into CDC cooperative agreements that invested more than $20M public health surveillance of the state’s opioid crisis and the implementation of a coordinated and comprehensive public health approach incorporating primary prevention efforts, strengthened community engagement, public and private partnerships, and clinical expertise. The purpose of Louisiana’s application to the Overdose Data to Action in States NOFO is to deploy a robust data-to-action framework in Louisiana that will reduce drug overdose events in the next five years. Beginning with measurement, OPH will focus surveillance efforts on trends in mortality and morbidity that increase awareness on populations of focus or geographic areas in need of further interventions and access to resources. Guided by a principle of “no data, no change,” OPH will interpret and publish data using principles of human-centered design and cultural competency, which will be made available to internal and external partners to design interventions and prioritize resources. Progress through the five-year period will be evaluated through continued surveillance to identify changes in data trends that inform efforts with scientific evidence. Public health programs and partnerships will address social risk factors that directly and indirectly influence drug use behavior and the rehabilitation of individuals who use drugs with improved considerations for overall health and wellness. Strategies to scale up care linkages will be focused on populations with the highest need, including people who use drugs, justice-involved individuals, and youth, to increase access to referral and crisis intervention services. OPH will implement this range of prevention and linkage to care activities through a network of statewide partners, connected regionally through the already-embedded opioid prevention coordinators. While this application proposes a slate of resources and activities available to all PWUD, there are targeted efforts towards populations of focus, such as those with unstable housing, the justice-involved population, African American residents, and youth. The reduction of health disparities is also aligned with the goal of reduced drug mortality and morbidity in the state. Collaborators in this approach include the Louisiana Supreme Court Drug Specialty Courts, the state Division of Probation and Parole, the Louisiana United Way, the state Office of Drug Policy, state and regional behavioral health authorities, syringe service and harm reduction programs, and regional clinical providers (ex. federally-qualified health centers, rural health clinics, parish health units.)
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).