Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Addressing Rising Overdose Rates through Data Surveillance and Intentional Action - Maine has the 9th highest age-adjusted death rate due to fatal overdose in the nation and 1st amongst New England states. Rates of self-reported 30-day illicit substance use is higher in Maine than regional and national averages. The Maine Office of Behavioral Health is ideally situated to address these continued issues. Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) is the Single State Agency (SSA) for both Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder, and the State Opioid Treatment Authority (SOTA) for Maine. OBH is a leader and an active partner in Maine’s efforts to ensure timely access to a comprehensive continuum of behavioral health services around the state. The activities selected for this project will rapidly inform appropriate interventions to drug overdoses with high quality and timely data to reduce the overall harm from drug use, with a focus on surveillance and prevention strategies. Surveillance related strategies include maintaining and enhancing timely access to data related to drug-related harms and the effective utilization of data to address drug-related harms. Outcomes for surveillance activities include: Increased timely, detailed, comprehensive, and actionable surveillance data, including toxicology testing for both nonfatal and fatal overdose cases (activities 2.1, 7:1, 7:2, strategy3); Increased data dissemination (activities 1.1, 1.2); Increased identification of factors contributing to overdose using linked data sets (activities 1.2, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, strategy 3); Increased data sharing and data availability (activities 1.2, 2.2, 6:4, 7:1, 7:2). The project also includes an emphasis on strategies focused on leveraging partnerships and data-informed programming to prevent drug-related harms. Outcomes for prevention activities include: Increased clinician awareness of evidence-based practices for pain management (activities 6:1); Increased clinician expertise and confidence to provide equitable opioid use disorder (OUD) and stimulant use disorder (StUD) care (activities 6:2); Increased collaboration, coordination, and communication among partners; Increased use of navigators to link people who use drugs to care and services (activities 6:3, 8.1, 8.2, 9.1); Increased access to harm reduction education and services, including increased distribution of naloxone (activity 8.2). These activities build on existing evidence-based programming to deepen their potential impact and reach. The project maintains a focus on populations that experience a disparate degree of drug-related harms. This is integrated into strategy selection and part of the projects Quality Impact Plan, that is intended to observe and adapt strategies and activities as needed to enhance engagement by and address barriers to services and specific factors that contribute to disparities.
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).