Overdose deaths are currently the largest cause of accidental death in the US and opioid-related overdose deaths constitute the overwhelming majority of these deaths. Demands for a knowledge-base for effective law enforcement interventions is growing. This proposed study is designed to provide a knowledge base regarding key obstacles and facilitators of the willingness and preparedness of police to administer naloxone and related risk reduction practices and evaluate the efficacy of a web-based opioid-related occupational safety and risk reduction curriculum. Findings from this study will be applied to the development and implementation of effective interventions for police officers aimed at harmonizing law enforcement practices with public health goals.
This application proposes to contribute to the harmonization of law enforcement practices and public health goals to combat rising morbidity and mortality rates associated with opioid-related overdose (OD). Police departments around the U.S. are increasingly making the OD reversal drug, naloxone, available to their officers. This intervention has the potential to greatly improve emergency response after an OD. The proportion of precincts mandating that officers carry naloxone remains small, however, and barriers remain that make adoption of these first-responder programs problematic. Lawsuits from police unions contesting naloxone- related mandates and occupational safety concerns, including the potential for needle stick injuries (HIV/HCV risk) and incidental contact with fentanyl-class substances, constitute barriers, as do stigma and concerns about legal jeopardy. The study team proposes to equip police with best-practices for minimizing workplace harms related to encounters with PWUO/PWID and the legal and practical knowledge to respond confidently to an OD without fear of legal jeopardy as well as reduce health risks to PWUOs and PWIDs associated with law enforcement. More than 10,000 law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania (roughly one third of all PA officers) have already received naloxone and OD response training from GetNaloxoneNow.org (GNN), a web-based intervention. With the support of county departments of health, harm reduction agencies, law enforcement, and district attorneys, the team proposes to adapt extant interventions for police to create an online training module aimed at reducing barriers to police engagement in OD response. Using a mixed-method design, organized around a pragmatic trial design, the study will achieve the following objectives:1) Adapt an occupational risk reduction (ORR) curriculum to add to a web-based OD response and naloxone training platform (GNN); 2) Describe naloxone use patterns, OD response experiences, and attitudes related to illicit opioid use among a sample (N = 300) of police officers in PA trained via the GNN platform; 3) Evaluate the relative effectiveness of ORR + GNN, compared with GNN-only, with respect to the following outcomes: a) rates of carrying naloxone while on/off-duty; b) rates of OD response in which naloxone is/isn't administered; c) numbers of referrals to treatment; d) numbers of syringes confiscated; and e) rates of information sharing with OD survivors and others. Mediators and moderators of efficacy will also be analyzed. 4) Document the range of psychosocial mechanisms underlying participant OD response engagement post-intervention. This study aims to remove barriers to life-saving police engagement with PWUO/PWID by focusing both on the safety of law enforcement and evidence-based and best-practices for working with persons at risk of an opioid OD. The study also will provide empirical evaluation of the diffusion of naloxone-based response among law enforcement.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
333
Potential participants are provided with a flyer with directions to enroll online. Groups are randomized by zip code (all participants with the same zip code receive the same training to avoid contamination by precinct) Both the experimental and control groups first take the online GetNaloxoneNow.org First Responder training; then the experimental group takes the online OPS training and the control group takes the online COVID training. Both groups take a pre-survey prior to both trainings and a post-survey after they complete both trainings. Both groups also receive (via email) a resource list with information that was provided in their respective trainings plus additional resources re: occupational risk reduction appropriate to each training. Every quarter for one year, participants are emailed a reminder to get back online to take the survey again.
Potential participants are provided with a flyer with directions to enroll online. Groups are randomized by zip code (all participants with the same zip code receive the same training to avoid contamination by precinct) Both the experimental and control groups first take the online GetNaloxoneNow.org First Responder training; then the experimental group takes the online OPS training and the control group takes the online COVID training. Both groups take a pre-survey prior to both trainings and a post-survey after they complete both trainings. Both groups also receive (via email) a resource list with information that was provided in their respective trainings plus additional resources re: occupational risk reduction appropriate to each training. Every quarter for one year, participants are emailed a reminder to get back online to take the survey again.
New York University
New York, New York, United States
Change in Naloxone Behavioral Outcomes in Policing Procedure
Number of days during the past 30 days in which participants had naloxone available and carried naloxone while at work.
Time frame: Time frame for all above items: the past 30 days at the time the survey is being administered; [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in Naloxone Behavioral Outcomes in Policing Procedure
Number of days during the past 30 days in which participants had naloxone available and carried naloxone outside of work hours.
Time frame: Time frame for all above items: the past 30 days at the time the survey is being administered; [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in Naloxone Behavioral Outcomes in Policing Procedure
Number of days during the past 30 days in which participants responded to an OD event, attempted to intervene, and/or administered naloxone.
Time frame: Time frame for all above items: the past 30 days at the time the survey is being administered; [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in Referral Behavioral Outcomes in Policing Procedure
Number of referrals to evidence-based or other drug treatment or social services made during the past 30 days.
Time frame: Time frame: the past 30 days at the time the survey is being administered; [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in Confiscation Behavioral Outcomes in Policing Procedure
Number of episodes involving syringe confiscation in the past 30 days (with/without proper technique).
Time frame: Time frame for all above items: the past 30 days at the time the survey is being administered; [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in Confiscation Behavioral Outcomes in Policing Procedure
Number of episodes in the past 30 days involving drug confiscation (with/without proper technique).
Time frame: Time frame for all above items: the past 30 days at the time the survey is being administered; [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
Which of the following diseases is MOST likely to be transmitted by a needle stick injury?
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
The risk of getting a bloodborne infection as a result of a needle stick injury is high (check only one response).
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
To avoid being stuck with a needle, police officers should (select ALL that apply)
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
The evidentiary value of syringes and any drug residue therein is (fill in the blank by checking only one response). 5\) Possession of syringes is (fill in the blank by checking only one response). 6) Confiscating syringes from people who inject drugs... (check all that apply): 7) Testing and precautionary treatment of any NSI is important, because... (fill in the blank by checking only one response).
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
Possession of syringes is (fill in the blank by checking only one response). 6) Confiscating syringes from people who inject drugs... (check all that apply): 7) Testing and precautionary treatment of any NSI is important, because... (fill in the blank by checking only one response).
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Confiscating syringes from people who inject drugs... (check all that apply): 7\) Testing and precautionary treatment of any NSI is important, because... (fill in the blank by checking only one response).
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Change in participant knowledge about needle stick injury and treatment
Testing and precautionary treatment of any NSI is important, because... (fill in the blank by checking only one response).
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Degree of participant familiarity with proper technique for dealing with contaminated injection equipment
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements relating to needle stick prevention and response (1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = disagree, 5 = strongly disagree): 1. I feel confident in my ability to avoid needlestick injuries. 2. I feel confident in my ability to get people who inject drugs to tell me if they have sharps before I search them. 3. I feel confident in my ability to conduct a Terry Stop with minimal risk of a needlestick injury. 4. In the event of needle stick injury, I would know the response protocol. 5. In the event of a needle stick injury, I feel confident in my ability to get the right testing and medical care. 6. In the event of a needle stick injury, I feel comfortable talking to the owner of the needle about coming with me to get tested.
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Degree of participant awareness of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and its uses
(1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = disagree, 5 = strongly disagree): 1. A first responder's risk of experiencing an overdose from touching fentanyl is high (select one response) 2. A first responder's risk of experiencing an overdose from breathing fentanyl is high (select one response) 3. Possession of naloxone by civilians is authorized only when accompanied with a valid prescription (select one response) 4. The 911 Good Samaritan Law... (fill in the blank and select all that apply) 5. When called to an overdose scene, it is best practice for police officers to... (fill in the blank and select all that apply)
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]
Degree of participant awareness of risk of fentanyl exposure and proper technique for dealing with synthetic opioids
Response options: (1 = all the time, 2 = most of the time, 3 = sometimes, 4 = rarely, 5 = never): 1. I am confident that I won't overdose from incidental skin contact with fentanyl. 2. I am confident about my ability to use basic protective equipment to avoid fentanyl exposure. 3. I am confident that I can recognize an opioid overdose when I see it. 4. I am confident that I can effectively reverse an overdose using rescue techniques and naloxone. 5. I am confident that I know how to conduct myself at an overdose scene to safeguard public health and public safety.
Time frame: [Data collected: Baseline, Post Intervention: 90 days, 180 days, 270 days, 360 days]