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Beyond Fentanyl Test Strips: The Need To Decriminalize All Drug Checking Equipment In Tennessee, Jeremy C. Kourvelas Mph

SMART Policy Briefs

KEY POINTS

• In 2022, Tennessee decriminalized fentanyl test strips (FTS) through Public Chapter 764. Thousands have since been distributed by the state and nonprofit coalitions as a key harm reduction strategy. As of the end of 2023, 44 other states and D.C. had also decriminalized FTS.

• Research indicates that people who use drugs are five times as likely to change their behaviors (including reducing drug use overall) in response to a test result that is positive for fentanyl. People who use methamphetamine are especially likely to change their behaviors.

• However, the law only applies to “narcotic testing equipment used to …

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Opioid-Related Visits To Rural Emergency Departments, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Jean A. Talbot Phd, Deborah Thayer Mba, Carly Milkowski Mph

Mental Health / Substance Use Disorders

Increased rates of acute opioid poisoning and related emergency department (ED) visits in the United States have occurred at the same time as rural EDs face a number of resource constraints. Researchers at the Maine Rural Health Research Center conducted this study to gain insight about rural ED visits for acute opioid poisoning and how they compare with urban ED visits. The authors used data from the 2006 and 2013 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample to examine rural and urban opioid-related visits (ORVs) to EDs, including rate change over time, and the outcomes of these ED visits (treatment and release, inpatient …

Dissociation Between The Growing Opioid Demands And Drug Policy Directions Among The U.S. Older Adults With Degenerative Joint Diseases, Pearl Kim Phd, Takashi Yamashita Phd, Mph, Ma, Jay J. Shen Phd, Seong-Min Park Phd, Sung-Youn Chun Phd, Sun Jung Kim Phd, Mhsa, Jinwook Hwang Md, Phd, Se Won Lee Md, Georgia Dounis Dds, Ms, Hee-Taik Kang Md, Phd, Yong-Jae Lee Md, Phd, Dong-Hun Han Dds, Phd, Ji Eun Kim Phd, Hyeyoung Yeom Md, David Byun Do, Tsigab Bahta Md, Ji Won Yoo Md

Public Health Faculty Publications

We aim to examine temporal trends of orthopedic operations and opioid-related hospital stays among seniors in the nation and states of Oregon and Washington where marijuana legalization was accepted earlier than any others. As aging society advances in the United States (U.S.), orthopedic operations and opioid-related hospital stays among seniors increase in the nation. A serial cross-sectional cohort study using the healthcare cost and utilization project fast stats from 2006 through 2015 measured annual rate per 100,000 populations of orthopedic operations by age groups (45–64 vs 65 and older) as well as annual rate per 100,000 populations of opioid-related hospital …

Rural Opioid Prevention And Treatment Strategies: The Experience In Four States [Working Paper], John A. Gale Ms, Anush Hansen Ms,Ma, Martha Elbaum Williamson Mpa

Mental Health / Substance Use Disorders

Although opioid use rates are comparable in rural and urban counties, rural opioid users tend to be younger, unmarried, have lower incomes, and are more likely to lack health insurance, all vulnerabilities that may negatively impact their ability to seek treatment and recover. Additionally, the rural health care system is characterized by numerous resource, workforce, access, and geographic challenges that complicate the delivery of specialized care for OUDs in rural communities. The nature and scope of the opioid crisis vary across rural communities and require multifaceted, community-based strategies to address the problem. Based on interviews with key stakeholders in Indiana, …

Rural Opioid Prevention And Treatment Strategies: The Experience In Four States [Policy Brief], John A. Gale Ms, Anush Yousefian Hansen Ms,Ma, Martha Elbaum Williamson Mpa

Mental Health / Substance Use Disorders

Little is known about what states with large rural populations are doing to combat opioid use disorders (OUD) in rural communities. This qualitative study identified rural challenges to the provision of OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services and explored promising strategies to tackle the opioid crisis in rural communities.