A Longitudinal Analysis of a Law Enforcement Intranasal Naloxone Training Program
| Autor: | Asa Margolis, Andrew I. Stolbach, Matthew J. Levy, Nelson Tang, Becca M. Scharf, J. Lee Jenkins, Jennifer M Nath |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
030204 cardiovascular system & hematology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Naloxone law enforcement medicine substance abuse media_common.cataloged_instance overdose prevention media_common training naloxone police business.industry Public health General Engineering Law enforcement Opioid overdose medicine.disease Knowledge survey Quality Improvement Substance abuse Opioid Law enforcement officer Emergency Medicine opioid Medical emergency business 030217 neurology & neurosurgery medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Cureus |
| ISSN: | 2168-8184 |
| Popis: | Introduction The opioid crisis continues to claim lives at historically unprecedented levels and shows few signs of abating. One means of mitigating the harm from opioid abuse and unintentional overdose is training and equipping police officers to administer intranasal (IN) naloxone as part of a broader public health response. While an increasing number of state and local agencies have implemented law enforcement officer (LEO) naloxone training programs, due to the novelty of these programs, the evidence of program efficacy is limited. This study describes the implementation and evaluation of a LEO training program in opioid overdose recognition, management, and administration of IN naloxone. Methods This evaluation consisted of a secondary analysis of de-identified administrative quality assurance data. Police officers in Howard County, Maryland (n=281) underwent an IN naloxone training program between June and July 2015. The training program entailed a 30-minute online component, a 45-minute in-service session, and a 15-question post-test (n=228). The success of the training program was evaluated via an opioid overdose knowledge survey administered at 30 days (n=207) and 6 months (n=182) after training. Results The 30-day and 6-month scores for all knowledge outcomes indicated that officers retained the contents of the training program well over time. After six months, 100% of respondents correctly identified the physiological effects of naloxone administration, and 95.6% correctly identified the opioid-containing drugs that may result in overdose. At the six-month mark, 74.59% correctly identified the initial signs of opioid overdose, and 60.99% correctly identified the time required for IN to begin working. Conclusion LEOs exhibit the ability to retain the contents of IN training over 30-day and 6-month periods and express confidence in their ability to assist suspected opioid overdose victims. Further research is necessary to determine the degree to which further knowledge decay might occur, the sustained ability to implement this knowledge under real-world conditions, and the subsequent effects on overdose victim survival. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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