CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati has released results of a study this week on a take-home naloxone (THN) program. Results show that widespread community distribution of naloxone did not significantly impact the median monthly opioid overdose rates. The study comes out during National Recovery Month. 

What You Need To Know

  • Naloxone is a medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose

  • The University of Cincinnati conducted a study on the impact of widespread community distribution of naloxone 

  • UC researchers hope the study helps reduce the stigma of opioid use disorder

The initiative, the Naloxone Distribution Collaborative (NDC), was facilitated from Oct. 2017 through Dec. 2019 by Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH). Prior to the start of the program, there was little distribution of THN to individuals in Hamilton County.

Spectrum News interviewed the lead researcher; Caroline Freiermuth, MD, Endowed Chair to Benefit the Acute Treatment of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the UC College of Medicine.

“We found that over the course of the two-year project where we were trying to distribute naloxone to as many communities possible, the overdose death rate really did not change. However, we did some modeling and we would have expected to see the opioid overdose death rate go up. And so we like to think that handing out the naloxone actually kept that at a steady rate,” stated Dr. Freiermuth. 

“What it does tell us, though, is there’s still a lot of work to be done. We need to make sure that you know everyone has access to this medication, knows how to use this medication, realizes how easy and impactful it is. This is such a safe medication. It’s very easy to administer. It works within seconds and really can help bring people back from death.”

Click on the video above to see the full interview.