HCS Research Belongs to Everyone
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.
Reducing perceived barriers to scaling up overdose education and naloxone distribution and medications for opioid use disorder
Companion Summary:
There are many barriers that make if 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.
Scientific Paper:
Reducing perceived barriers to scaling up overdose education and naloxone distribution and medications for opioid use disorder in the United States in the HEALing (Helping End Addiction Long-Term®) communities study
Led by Hannah Knudsen and published in Preventive Medicine.
Perceptions of opioid-related stigma decreased in communities that received the Communities That HEAL intervention
Companion Summary:
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.
Scientific Paper:
Effects of the Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention on perceived opioid-related community stigma in the HEALing Communities Study: Results of a multi-site, community-level, cluster-randomized trial
Led by Alissa Davis and published in The Lancet Regional Health: Americas.
How a National Study Empowered Communities to Use Solutions Supported by Science to Address Opioid Overdose Deaths
Companion Summary:
The HEALing Communities Study set an ambitious goal to decrease 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 to communities that received the Communities That HEAL intervention. This summary of a scientific article explains the impact of the study on overdose deaths.
Scientific Paper:
Community-based cluster-randomized trial to reduce opioid overdose deaths
Led by Jeffrey Samet and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.