The HEALing Communities Study represents the dedication, participation, and passion of people who believed in a mission to reduce the number of lives lost to overdoses in their local communities – and they are the true heroes of our story.
The research knowledge produced from this study belongs to everyone. To spread HCS knowledge, here we describe our scientific process, the information we collected, and the conclusions we drew in brief summaries and illustrations that everyone can understand and appreciate.
Communities That HEAL intervention increases naloxone availability
Naloxone, the medication that can reverse an opioid-related overdose as it is happening, is often not available to people who need it. Supplying community members with naloxone will reduce opioid overdose deaths. HCS researchers learned that there were 79% more units of naloxone distributed in communities that received the intervention.
Naloxone Scientific PaperA cluster, randomized trial to determine whether the Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention is effective in increasing naloxone distribution compared with usual care.
Led by Patricia Freeman and published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Over three-quarters of the drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involved fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is commonly mixed with stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine (or meth). In recent years, rising amounts of people using opioids with other drugs has worsened the overdose crisis. HCS researchers found that in Communities That HEAL communities, there was a 37% reduction in overdose deaths from opioids mixed with stimulants like meth (not including cocaine).
OVERDOSE PREVENTION Scientific PaperA randomized clinical trial to evaluate the impact of the CTH intervention on total drug overdose deaths and overdose deaths involving combinations of opioids with psychostimulants or benzodiazepines.
Led by Bridget Freisthler and published in Substance Use and Addiction.
There are many barriers that make it hard for people to access naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Researchers from the HEALing Communities Study looked at whether the Communities That HEAL program reduced perceived barriers to accessing naloxone and MOUD and found that local leaders perceived fewer barriers to adding these medications in nontraditional settings.
MOUD Scientific PaperLed by Hannah Knudsen and published in Preventive Medicine.
Community stigma is a barrier to treatment for people with opioid use disorder. HCS investigators learned that leaders championing opioid-reduction efforts in communities that received the Communities That HEAL intervention saw a significant decline in community stigma compared with those that had not received the intervention.
STIGMA Scientific PaperLed by Alissa Davis and published in The Lancet Regional Health: Americas.
The HEALing Communities Study set an ambitious goal of decreasing opioid overdose deaths through evidence-based practices; although the statistics didn't show changes in communities in the short-term, the study successfully put into action more than 600 evidence-based practices. This summary article explains the impact of the study on overdose deaths.
OVERDOSE PREVENTION Scientific PaperCommunity-Based Cluster-Randomized Trial to Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths
Led by Jeffrey Samet and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
