Tools to Advance Implementation of Public Safety-Led Overdose Prevention and Response Efforts

While overdose is a health issue, public safety professionals are often the first to respond to overdose. They also play a critical role in helping to prevent drug overdose and addressing the health needs of people who use drugs. To curb the overdose crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their partners recognize the importance of collaborating with public safety agencies to improve overdose prevention and response efforts.

In this session, we will highlight two initiatives to identify, develop, and disseminate tools that support these efforts:
1. The Overdose Response Strategy (ORS), a national partnership between CDC, CDC Foundation, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, is undertaking a review to identify available information on stimulants. Useful resources that improve public safety’s ability to respond to people who use stimulants will be highlighted, as well as gaps that can be addressed through development of additional resources.
2. Public safety agencies are encouraged to use evidence-based overdose prevention strategies. However, detailed information about starting and implementing these strategies is largely unavailable or inaccessible to these agencies. To bring the evidence to life, the National Council of Mental Wellbeing led creation of “how to” guides on several overdose prevention topics.

The session will present a variety of tools that have been developed, or are in the process of development and dissemination, that specifically support the work of public safety agencies. Identification and use of these materials will improve implementation of interventions like post-overdose outreach, responding to stimulant-involved overdose, pre-arrest diversion and deflection, linking to care in community corrections, and provision of care in corrections.