Opioids Archives

We Need to Think Bigger Than Opioid Stewardship

New research identifies high-risk touchpoints that offer opportunity to provide harm reduction services to those most at risk of opioid overdose

To tackle the overdose epidemic, focusing on opioid prescriptions alone is not enough. New research shows that we’re missing opportunities to save thousands of lives.

New Remote Dispensing Naloxone Policy Will Increase Access

Pharmacy pickup is a significant barrier to naloxone access. A policy allows pharmacists to hand out the drug directly at the point of care.

Journalist Maia Szalavitz on Addiction as a Learning Disorder

The author of Unbroken Brain discusses our evolving understanding of addiction — and the implications for how we treat and prevent substance use disorders.

Continued Naltrexone Use for OUD May Be Favorable in Pregnancy

Continued use of naltrexone in pregnant women with OUD may have better outcomes than buprenorphine

New findings suggest that the understudied medication naltrexone may lead to better short-term outcomes for some pregnant women with OUD and their babies.

Researchers Explore Overdose Risk Factors in Teens, Young Adults

Polysubstance use, psychiatric conditions, witnessing an overdose, and a lack of stable housing stand out as risk factors among people age 30 and under.

An Improved Treatment Model for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal

The increased use of unprescribed and prescribed opioids in the accelerating opioid crisis has not spared pregnant women, and infants exposed to opioids in utero are often the unintended target of substance use disorder. Over the past decade, researchers have seen a five-fold increase in the rate of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), previously known…

Support from Social Work Critical in Substance Use Recovery

SOFAR helps keep families together by addressing healthcare and other support needs during recovery from substance use.

Social workers and patient navigators play a key role in providing services, reducing stigma, and breaking down barriers to care for parents with substance use disorder.

Polysubstance Use: A Dangerous Fourth Wave in the Opioid Crisis

Seeing a worrisome rise in people using multiple substances, providers call for a renewed focus on the social factors underlying addiction.

Community Narcan Training Extends Our Life-Saving Capacity

Community Narcan training is key in fighting the opioid epidemic

Education and distribution turns community members into first responders and is key in overcoming the opioid epidemic, despite what some critics of the drug say.

Guidance for Opioid Prescribing

doctor counting pills for an opioid prescription

A veteran primary care physician discusses the subtleties of prescribing opioids and treating people with chronic pain and substance use disorders appropriately.

Stigma: A Key Barrier to SUD Treatment and Sound Public Policy

The words we use to describe substance use disorders can reshape perceptions, a necessary step toward reducing the morbidity and mortality of the current opioid crisis.