Up until 2017, opioid overdose deaths continued to increase, making Ohio the second-highest ranked state for opioid overdose deaths in the nation. Past efforts to prevent opioid overdose deaths failed to impact Ohioans because of a lack of evidence-based approaches for assisting communities to implement a custom-designed response strategy.
The Ohio HEALing Communities Study sought to remedy this by improving existing infrastructures and partnerships. These collaborations were led by a research plan that focused on achieving a decrease in opioid misuse and overdose deaths.
Our study not only prioritizes which prevention and treatment strategies work best, but also how to best implement and sustain effective programming within Ohio HEALing communities. The knowledge we obtain on best prevention, implementation, and treatment practices will inform how we move forward as a state and a nation to reduce opioid overdose deaths.
The Ohio HEALing Communities research team collaborated with our communities to collect data that will inform how to support local efforts to reduce opioid misuse and overdose deaths.
We are partnering with RecoveryOhio and Ohio communities to understand the most-effective strategies to reach populations most at risk for opioid overdoses, to get those in need into treatment, and to facilitate a healthy quality of life for people recovering from opioid use disorder. We also want to learn how care and treatment can be integrated into different settings—ranging from jails and prisons to outpatient treatment—to decrease the economic and emotional toll of the opioid epidemic among Ohioans and the state of Ohio.
