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Adolescents and Young Adults Willing to Intervene During Overdose but Lack Naloxone Knowledge
While a large majority of adolescents and young adults expressed a willingness to intervene in an opioid overdose event, only a small portion of those surveyed knew how to administer naloxone. Results from the cross-sectional study were published via research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.
“To our knowledge, this study was the first to assess opioid overdose awareness in a national sample of [adolescents and young adults (AYAs)] in the US,” wrote Christina E. Freibott, MPH, Boston University School of Public Health, and co-authors. “Many participants reported high willingness to intervene during an overdose, yet only a small proportion knew how to administer naloxone, an easily learnable skill.”
Authors utilized data from the 2021-29022 Health Minds Study, a cross-sectional, internet-based survey distributed to a random sample of AYAs (ages 18 to 25) attending higher-education institutions in the United States. The outcomes under study were 4 questions modified from the Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale and Opioid Overdose Attitudes Scale on the topics of naloxone knowledge and use, overdose recognition, and willingness to intervene during an overdose scenario. They also collected data on self-identified race and ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
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Of the 7071 survey participants (mean [SD] age, 20.6 [2.0] years; 4647 females [66.8%], 1919 males [27.6%], 393 transgender or gender-expansive [TGE] [5.6%]) 2134 (30.2%) correctly identified naloxone use and 4380 (61.9%) correctly identified at least 1 sign of opioid overdose. A total of 1003 participants (14.2%) reported knowing how to administer naloxone, while 4722 (66.8%) felt comfortable calling emergency services during an overdose event.
Study authors observed significant differences in naloxone knowledge across the demographic categories measures. For example, survey respondents identifying as Alaska Native or Pacific Islander (32.9%); TGE identity (34.6%); and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer orientation (35.4%) had the highest percentages of correct knowledge. Meanwhile, participants identifying as other race and ethnicity (17.1%) and females (14.7%) had the highest percentages of naloxone use knowledge.
“With 20 million AYAs in higher education (more than half of all US AYAs), prevention efforts in this setting should be a public health priority,” the authors concluded.
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