Implementation of Online Opioid Prevention, Recognition and Response Trainings for Laypeople: Year 1 Survey Results

ABSTRACT

Background: This article reports on the first implementation of an online opioid-overdose prevention, recognition and response training for laypeople. The training was disseminated nationally in November 2014. Between 2000 and 2014, U.S. opioid deaths increased by 200%. The importance of complementary approaches to reduce opioid overdose deaths, such as online training, cannot be overstated. Objectives: A retrospective evaluation was conducted to assess perceived knowledge, skills to intervene in an overdose, confidence to intervene, and satisfaction with the training. Measurements: Descriptive statistics were used to report sample characteristics, compare experiences with overdose and/or naloxone between subgroups, and describe participants’ satisfaction with the trainings. Z-ratios were used to compare independent proportions, and paired t-tests were used to compare participant responses to items pre- and posttraining, including perceived confidence to intervene and perceived knowledge and skills to intervene successfully. Results: Between January and October 2015, 2,450 laypeople took the online training; 1,464 (59.8%) agreed to be contacted. Of these, 311 (21.2% of those contacted) completed the survey. Over 80% reported high satisfaction with content, format and mode of delivery and high satisfaction with items related to confidence and overdose reversal preparedness. Notably, 89.0% of participants felt they had the knowledge and skills to intervene successfully posttraining compared to 20.3% pretraining (z = −17.2, p <.001). Similarly, posttraining, 87.8% of participants felt confident they could successfully intervene compared to 24.4% pretraining (z = −15.9, p <.001). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the GetNaloxoneNow.org online training for laypeople.

KEYWORDS:

• Heroin overdose
• opioid overdose
• overdose prevention
• naloxone
• bystanders
• online education

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to CDHUR faculty and mentors for their support for this study, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for their support in disseminating the training, as well as others who have helped to disseminate the training nationwide. We also want to thank the experts and Co-Investigators who assisted in writing the scripts and helped to evaluate the training before it was disseminated (Alex Walley, M.D., Sharon Stancliff, M.D., Maya Doe-Simkins, MPH, Michael Dailey, M.D., Sara Jahnke, Ph.D., Todd LeDuc, MS, FACEP and Nabil El Sanadi, M.D. FACEP). Much appreciation is also due to our graphic designer Michael Grabinski of Red 5, Inc. and our webmaster Paul Modiano of Logical Developers, Corp. Finally, many thanks to all who took the time to complete the survey.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Contributors

JS and LG designed the study. JS developed the survey questions. SR and LG organized and analyzed the quantitative data. JS, SE, LE and LG wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the submission of this manuscript to Substance Use and Misuse.

Additional information

Funding

This evaluation was supported by the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR) with funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse (Grant # P30 DA011041). Support to develop the online training was granted by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse (Grant #1R43DA029358-01A1).