Naloxone training in primary care setting: a promising measure
Various interventions exist to reduce opioid-related mortality, including Take Home Naloxone Programs. However, the overwhelming majority of these interventions are community programs targeting non-medical drug users. Only a few interventions target patients in primary care clinics taking prescription opioids for chronic pain or opioid agonist therapy (OAT) for opioid use disorder. The aim of this quasi-experimental time-series design study was to generate preliminary data on the effectiveness of an overdose prevention and naloxone training program in a primary care clinic setting. Study participants were opioid users (chronic pain or OAT) followed at Charles-LeMoyne family medicine group, who had no previous training on naloxone. The intervention was a standardized 1-hour group training session about overdose risk and management. A 14-question form used to evaluate naloxone training programs, the Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS), was used to assess the participant’s understanding and information retention. Means for OOKS scores were 24.8/44 at T0, 39.1/44 at T1 and 35.0/44 at T2, suggesting an increased and sustained knowledge regarding overdose management and naloxone use in both groups, following the training session. Most participants reported an increased confidence in their ability to use naloxone appropriately three months after the intervention. In the North American opioid crisis context, training at-risk patients in primary care clinics is promising and would allow reaching more opioid users to prevent opioid-related adverse events.